Spice it Up
by tExASftw
Summary: A rewrite of the light novels, the only difference being the added bits of romance (and, of course, my own preferential alterations).
1. Volume 1 (Enrollment) - Chapter 0

Magic—neither a product of legends nor fairy tales, the technology has become our new reality.

The first verifiable record dates back to 1999, when police officers possessing special powers stopped a nuclear act of terror.

The ability was initially coined "supernatural power," and was derived from genetic mutations. Through extensive research, the existence of magic was gradually made public.

Magic is a technical skill. It aims to reproduce this supernatural power, which is gained through birth, not practice. Over time, "supernatural power users" became"magic technicians." These technicians were powerful weapons.

WWIII broke out in 2045, lasting another 20 years.

By the year 2095, the various nations of the world were locked in a race to nurture magic technicians.

Thus sparked the creation of magical schools. Magic high schools, numbered one through nine, are affiliated with the National University of Magic, a prestigious learning institution. The schools themselves are not lacking in status, and are ranked on their ability to churn out the greatest number of graduates.

In regards to magic education, there is no official stance on providing equal opportunity. The luxury could hardly be afforded. Furthermore, childish debates revolving around the clear difference between the capable and incapable were not tolerated.

Thoroughly talent-driven. Harshly competence-oriented. That is the world of magic.


	2. Volume 1 (Enrollment) - Chapter 1

"I can't accept this."

"Still...?"

Standing before the auditorium, a pair of students stood, locked in disagreement. Although both freshmen, their uniforms had one distinct difference. It wasn't the difference between slacks and a skirt, but the emblems on each uniform. On the female student's chest was an eight-petaled flower of the First High School. It was nowhere to be seen on the male's blazer.

"Onii-sama, why are you a reserve? You topped the entrance exams- You should be freshman class representative, not me!

"Putting aside the question of where you got hold of the entrance exam results... since this is a Magic High School, they would place more emphasis on practical magic using abilities rather than paper tests, right?" Although displeased, his next words soothed her, "Miyuki, you are well aware of my magic using capabilities, aren't you? I'm surprised I was even accepted as a course 2 student."

The female was his sister, as could be confirmed by her use of the title, "Onii-sama." Although the two shared coloring, their facial structures were completely different. She was captivating to any who set eyes on her, with her silky blue-black mane, shining blue eyes, and girlish charm. Tatsuya was not nearly as attention-grabbing.

"How can you be so unsure of yourself?! Even when no one can match you in your studies or taijutsu! Even for magic-"

"Miyuki!" As he called out her name, Miyuki sobered. "You understand that saying that won't help, right?"

Her eyes lowered, "I apologize…"

"Miyuki…" he placed his hand on her hair, leaning forward. "I'm honored you feel anger in my stead."

"Liar."

He denied the accusation.

"Onii-sama, you're always scolding me…"

He pursed his lips, "I'm not lying. I think about you the same way you think about me."

Miyuki's cheeks reddened.

Tatsuya could only feel he had made a grave mistake in saying that, but he shelved that for later dealing.

"Backing out of the speech will tarnish your reputation, and I won't be selected as your replacement anyway. Besides, Miyuki, I'm looking forward to it. Let me be proud of my little sister-I know you worked hard for this."

She nodded "Pardon my behavior. Please watch me, Onii-sama."

"Of course, Miyuki. I look forward to it.."

As she said her goodbyes, Miyuki stood on her tiptoes, gave her elder brother a light peck on the cheek, and disappeared into the auditorium.

Tatsuya breathed a sigh of relief. He had escorted his little sister to school before the ceremony rehearsal and was now at a loss as to how to spend the remaining hours.

The main building, the practice building, and an experiment building were only a small part of the campus. The school contained an auditorium, a five-level library, two gyms, a preparation building (which had locker rooms, storage rooms, and club rooms), and the cafeteria. With the recent constructions, the campus was more suited for a college than a high school.

The young man searched for a place to rest. The ID card that allowed him to use the school facilities would only be given out after the ceremony. After five minutes of following the map on his mobile terminal, he spotted a bench in the courtyard.

The courtyard seemed to be a shortcut from the preparation building to the auditorium. The students passing by Tatsuya along said shortcut were most definitely roped into helping out by management. As they passes, a trail of artless, ill-meaning words escaped them. "—Isn't that kid a weed?" "He's early... he sure is enthusiastic for a reserve." " —In the end, he's just a spare."

The word, "weed," referred to a course 2 student. The flower patch indicates that the student is a "bloom," while course 2 students' uniforms are absent of said patch.

Course 1 and course 2 had the same amount of students and, although the course 2 students were supposedly inferior to the course 1 students, First High school was extremely competitive. The institution, established to nurture magicians, accepted only the cream of the crop.

While pitying, the fact is that magic education is a trial-and-error situation. Accidents are hard to control. Though most accidents resulting in physical harm have lowered in frequency, a student's magical talent can be easily impaired via a psychological component. Course 2 students fill in the gaps when said students are removed from school.

Seeing as they are only a backup, course 2 students do not receive receive personal instruction in magic. They can only learn on their own, and show results through their own efforts. If they can't do that, they will have to graduate from a normal high school and, subsequently, cannot pursue studies in a magic university.

Publicly, it is forbidden to call the course 2 students "weeds." However, the term was so well-know it was almost rooted in the course 2 students themselves. Even they must recognize that they are no more than spares.'

There was not need for them to speak with the intent of him hearing such words. He had entered this school fully aware of that.

◊ ◊ ◊

Almost thirty minutes until the school entrance ceremony.

"Are you a new student? It's almost time for the ceremony."

Around the same time he was about to stand up, a voice came from above him. The first thing that came into view was the school uniform. Following that was a wide bracelet- the latest model of a CAD (Casting Assistant Device).

The technology was a necessity for any modern magic technician, as it cut down invocation time from ten seconds to less than one second. In the hands of a magic technician, it was a powerful tool. In the hands of a normal person, it was nothing more than an accessory. It is the ability of the magic technician himself that invokes the magic. In other words, CADs are useless o those who can't use magic. If his memory served him right, the only students allowed to carry CADs on school were student leaders.

Tatsuya thanked her for the reminder.

"I'm impressed. A screen type?"

Looking at the screen of the mobile data terminal he had folded in his hand, she grinned.

"Our school disallows the use of virtual display terminals, which many students use. However, you are using the screen type even before enrolling."

"The virtual type is not suitable for reading." Anyone could tell that his terminal was a seasoned one, so she didn't bother asking further.

Upon hearing that calculated excuse, she grew impressed.

"You read huh? That's rare. I also prefer book-based information to animation-based ones."

Indeed, while this was an era with virtual content preferred over text content, readers weren't exactly rare.

The girl was unusually sociable, and she only seemed to be getting friendlier.

"Ahh, I beg your pardon. I'm the student council president, Saegusa Mayumi- It's written with the characters for "seven grass". Nice to meet you."

With feminine looks and a well-proportioned body, she radiated such an alluring atmosphere that it would not be surprising if male students misunderstood her intentions. Yet, upon hearing her self-introduction, the young man seemed to frown. "A number... and to top it off, a 'Saegusa (Seven Grass)'."

A magician's ability is greatly influenced by heritage, and the houses of a superior magical blood traditionally carry a number in their family name.

Among the numbered Magician lineages that carry a superior hereditary factor, the Saegusa is one of two houses deemed to be most powerful. That young woman was of their descent. In other words, she was an elite among elites.

She was the exact opposite of him. Holding back a bitter mutter and managing to smile courteously, the young man returned his name.

"My name is Shiba Tatsuya."

"Shiba Tatsuya-kun... I see. You are that Shiba-kun huh..." The woman's eyes went wide with surprise.

Despite his sister's standing, he was a dunce, so Tatsuya politely kept quiet.

"You have been quite a hot topic among the teachers," Mayumi said, unconcerned with Tatsuya's silence.

It was likely due to the rarity of siblings who were such a far cry from each other, thought Tatsuya. But, no such incredulity could be sensed from her. No sign of ridicule.

"Out of a hundred marks, the average mark of all seven subjects in your entrance exam was ninety-six. The best were Magic Theory and Magic Engineering. Even though the average mark of those who passed was no more than seventy, you got a perfect grade without a hitch for both subjects that had essay-based questions. Scores like those are practically unheard of."

"Those are merely paper test results. They are just data inside an information system."

In magic high school students, more emphasis was given to practical results than paper test results.

While a bitter smile surfaced on, he pointed to his own left chest, where, had he a patch, it would be placed proudly.

"That kind of score...I won't be able to reproduce that, you know? I may not look like it, but I'm really much stronger in theory-based subjects. I definitely wouldn't have been able to score such high marks, Shiba-kun."

"It's about time... please excuse me." Tatsuya turned his back to her without waiting for a reply.

◊ ◊ ◊

The auditorium was mostly full by the time Tatsuya entered the auditorium. Since there was no seat designation, he was free to sit anywhere.

Even now, some schools arrange seating based on class, but such would not be announced here until after the ceremony. However, there was a clear pattern in the distribution of seats.

The front half seated blooms while the second half would be occupied by the weeds.

Although not enforced, the ones most conscious of the discrimination accepted it without complaint.

Tatsuya chose, at his own discretion, an empty seat near the back. He turned his eyes to the clock. Another twenty minutes more.

He couldn't access any site in that auditorium, where electronic communication was restricted. Tatsuya tried thinking about his sister, who would be doing her final rehearsal at this time... and shook his head. There was no doubt that she would do phenomenally. In the end, Tatsuya, who did nothing, adjusted and sat himself upright on the hard seat and closed his eyes.

As he was about to take a short nap, "Er, is the seat beside you occupied?"

He opened his eyes, and just as he thought, the voice had been directed at him. "Help yourself."

Although bewildered, for there were plenty of other open seats, he did not feel uneasy next to the girl. Rather, it was much more comfortable than a filthy muscle block beside him. Thinking about that, Tatsuya gave a polite nod.

"Thank you," she nodded as she took her seat.

Beside her, three other young women sat down one after another. It seemed they were looking for a place that could accommodate all four of them. They were probably friends, though it was quite rare to see so many already established friends making it into a difficult school like this one and, on top of that, be in Course 2 together. It wouldn't be strange if even one of them was a high achiever. But, he supposed, it didn't matter to him anyhow.

She turned to him and readied herself to speak. What on earth could she want? She wasn't an acquaintance, and neither did he accidently knock against her with his limbs. If Tatsuya were to say, he was sitting in a good posture. He shouldn't have done anything that would warrant a complaint but —

"I'm Shibata Mizuki. Nice to meet you." She introduced herself in a seemingly timid tone.

"I'm Shiba Tatsuya. Nice to meet you too." Upon returning a soft introduction, the eyes beyond those large lenses appeared relieved.

In this era, it was quite rare for girls to wear glasses. Vision correction procedures grew widespread, ending the ailment known as myopia.

Unless born with a serious vision abnormality, one would not need any vision correction tool, and even then, long-term contacts were more common. If she was wearing glasses despite this, it could be because it was her hobby, a fashion accessory, or due to — (Over-sensitivity to spirit particle emission, huh...)

From a quick look, he could tell that there was no degree in the lenses. At the very least, he knew that they were not used for vision correction. She was hardly the type to wear them for fashion. It was more probable that she was wearing them for a particular need.

"Over-sensitivity to spirit particle emission" is a condition in which the patient can see particle emission without conscious effort. The particles cannot be shut out. It wasn't so much an illness as it was a case of excessively sharp senses.

Pushion and psion were particles observed in "Parapsychological Phenomena." Psion particles are non-physical particles representing thought and intention. Pushion are the manifestation of emotion behind those intents.

Normally, it was psion that was used in modern magic, and was the first thing magicians learned to manipulate.

Sufferers of OSSPE, a hereditary disorder, were over sensitive to spirit particle emission (go figure) — non-physical light generated through pushion activity.

Pushion particles, formed by emotions, caused those with OSSPE to be susceptible to mental or emotional breakdowns. To prevent that, control of pushion sensitivity was necessary. Those unable to do that would require a technology aid.

One aide was a pair of glasses made from a specialized lens. To magicians, Over-Sensitivity to Spirit Particle Emissions was not especially rare.

However, it would indeed be rare to see a person that required constant aid to block the emissions. If this was due to an extremely superior sensitivity, it would be bad news for Tatsuya.

Tatsuya could not be discovered from outward appearance alone, but, if she did have those special eyes, he could be discovered by chance. —He would have to act with caution in her presence.

"I'm Chiba Erika. Nice to meet you, Shiba-kun."

"Nice to meet you too." The voice cut off Tatsuya's thoughts. But that was a welcome interruption.

Tatsuya's look had unconsciously turned into a stare, and Mizuki's patience was approaching its limit.

"But, can I say that this is an interesting coincidence?"

Different from her friend, Erika appeared to be an extrovert and of an unreserved type. Her short, bright hair and distinct facial features amplified the impression of liveliness.

"What is?"

"Well, you know, we are Shiba, Shibata, and Chiba right? Don't they rhyme somehow? Though they are a little different."

"...I see." He could understand that.

But still, Chiba, huh... another numbered one? He wasn't aware the Chiba house had a daughter by that name but it was possible she was of collateral descent. As he thought about that, a somewhat out-of-place laugh escaped from him.

After the remaining two students on the other side of Erika had finished introducing themselves, Tatsuya felt like satisfying his trivial curiosity.

"Were the four of you from the same middle school?"

Erika's reply was an unexpected one. "Nope, all of us just met for the first time."

Tatsuya's surprised look might have been a strange one, for Erika started giggling as she explained. "I didn't know where the place was and I was staring at the information board. That's when Mizuki called out to me."

"...Information board?" That's strange, thought Tatsuya. The data for the school entrance ceremony included the location of the venue, and had been sent to all the new students. By using the LPS (Local Positioning System), a standard feature in a mobile terminal, even if a new student didn't read the information board, or remember any of the information, one shouldn't lose one's way.

"The three of us didn't bring our data terminals."

"Well, the virtual-screen models are banned and I had the school entrance guide stored in mine."

"We managed to luck into this school after all. It wouldn't make sense to get marked off right at the school entrance ceremony."

"I forgot mine actually."

He really couldn't accept it. It's your own school entrance ceremony; at least verify the location of the venue before coming. Still, he didn't say a word. No need to stir up trouble.

◊ ◊ ◊

Miyuki's reply address was outstanding as expected.

Tatsuya never doubted her. Despite including a number of pretty dangerous phrases like "everyone alike", "as a single body", "aside from magic" or "in an integrated manner", she managed to set it all up properly.

Her openness, innocence, and modesty, coupled with her appearance, had captured the hearts of the upperclassmen. Miyuki would likely be surrounded by boisterousness starting tomorrow. That was not unusual.

Society would call Tatsuya a siscon, stemming from his habit of pampering her. He wished to commend her immediately, but had to receive his ID card instead.

Since they were not made beforehand, every student has to head to a specific location to have their data written into the cards. Miyuki had probably already been provided with this card, as the freshman representative.

And right now, in the midst of the visitors and student crowd,"Shiba-kun, which class are you in?" Erika asked Tatusya.

"Class E."

On hearing Tatsuya's reply, Erika exclaimed "Yay! We're in the same class." Mizuki was as well.

The two remaining freshmen in the group announced that they were in classes F and G and headed towards their homerooms.

"What shall we do? Maybe take a look at our homeroom as well?" Erika looked up at the face of Tatsuya.

Save for a few schools, homeroom teachers were not employed. There was hardly enough budget to be wasted on human resources.

Except for practical lessons, almost everything was done with data terminals. Still, homerooms were needed for convenience. If more guidance is needed, there are always counselors assigned to each homeroom, each with expertise in multiple disciplines.

Besides, No matter what background people came from, once the time they spent in the same room became long, they would mingle with one another. By dispensing with the homeroom teacher system, the bonds between classmates tend to strengthen. At any rate, if one wanted to make new friends, going to homeroom was the fastest route.

But, Tatsuya shook his head at Erika's invitation. "Sorry. I'm meeting up with my little sister."

Tatsuya had an agreement with Miyuki to get back together immediately after the procedures were done.

"Heehh... if it's Shiba-kun's little sister, then she must be really cute right?"

Upon hearing Erika's thoughtful and questioning murmur, Tatsuya was troubled as to how he should answer her. If it's his little sister, then she must be cute. What could that mean? He felt that he couldn't quite connect the cause and effect well. Fortunately, he didn't need to force himself to answer that.

"Could your little sister be... the representative of the freshmen, Shiba Miyuki-san?" Mizuki asked. A nod from Tatsuya was enough to ascertain the answer to that.

"Really? Are you twins?" The question from Erika was a natural one.

Tatsuya answered as he had for the past several years."No. I was born in April while she was born in March, 11 months later. We would have been in different school years had we been born another month apart."

"I guess that really makes things complicated, huh?"

With a little sister who was a high achiever in the same school year, it was bound to be complicated, but Tatsuya let the question slide. "That aside, it's surprising that you can tell. Shiba is not such a rare family name, after all."

On hearing Tatsuya's counter, the two young ladies smiled faintly. "No no, it's pretty rare."

However, the way she said it gave off a considerably different feel.

In contrast to Erika's smile, which was mixed with a sense of wryness, "Your features look alike..." Mizuki's reserved smile appeared to lack confidence.

"Do they?" Tatsuya's head did not turn at Mizuki's words. Rather, he couldn't believe them.

Even if one didn't actively look for the good points in Miyuki, she was a rare beauty. Even if you took away all her superfluous talents, she would not be able to help but gather attention - A born idol. No, a star. Looking at his little sister, he could understand the idiom, "God does not give two gifts," was but an unpleasant lie.

Conversely, was he himself above the norm, or above average, perhaps? Tatsuya evaluated himself. During middle school, as love letters were shoved to his little sister, Tatsuya had never once received such a thing. Even if it were only partially, they should still inherit the same genes, but even Tatsuya had doubted their own blood relation.

"If you put it that way... uhn, you do look alike. Shiba-kun is quite the hunk as well. It just kind of feels like your features can't resemble any more than that."

Mizuki nodded in agreement.

"'You mean that if you take away my face, there's no resemblance in us?"

"That's not it. Hmm, how should I put it..."

Mizuki came to the rescue as Erika fumbled. "It's your aura. Your dignified features look alike. As expected of siblings."

"That's right! Aura, it's your aura." Slapping her own lap, Erika gave a strong nod.

This time, it was Tatsuya's turn to smile wryly. "Chiba-san... you sure do get carried away easily."

" Carried away? You're so cruel", she started protesting, but he let it slide.

"That aside, Shibata-san, it's amazing for you to be able to tell by our aura... Your eyes must be really good." But it was Erika who jumped at his words.

"Eh? Mizuki is wearing glasses..."

"I don't mean that. Besides, Shibata-san's glasses have no degree in them right?" Erika peered into Mizuki's glasses. On the other side of the lenses, Mizuki's eyes widened.

"Onii-sama, sorry for the wait." From behind Tatsuya the voice of the person whom he was waiting for called out.

Miyuki, who was surrounded by a crowd of blooms, slipped out. Initially, Tatsuya felt that she was a little early, but thinking about his little sister's character again, it was perhaps just about time. Though she wasn't one to shy away from socialization, she had a tendency to be displeased with flattery.

Since childhood, there had been no lack of opportunities for her to receive praise. Among them, however, were such compliments coated in envy. Her suspicion of praise was quite understandable.

She was handling it well today.

"You were quick," was what he intended to say. His words remained as planned, but were delivered in a questioning manner.

Behind her stood a young woman.

"Hello Shiba-kun. We meet again."

In response to that disarming smile, Tatsuya lowered his head silently. Despite his inadequate acknowledgement, Saegusa Mayumi's smile did not give way in the slightest.

More strange than Tatsuya's strange response to the student council president was how his little sister appeared to be bothered by the two young ladies who had snuggled up beside him.

Miyuki communicated through a questioning look. Although taken aback by her abruptness, he had nothing to hide.

Tatsuya answered without delay. "This is Shibata Mizuki-san. And that is Chiba Erika-san. We're in the same class."

"I see... isn't it a little too soon to be dating your classmates?" With her adorable head tilted to the side, Miyuki's faced showed something along the lines of 'it's not like I have something against it.'

Her lips formed a lady-like smile, but her eyes were anything but. It seemed she had been bombarded with flattery after the ceremony, setting her on edge.

"We were just chatting while waiting for you. You're being rude to both of them, aren't you?"

His little sister's pouting face looked cute to him, but failing to give her own name after an introduction did not look favorable.

On seeing Tatsuya's reproach, a look of resignation flashed across her face. Following that, Miyuki fixed up an even more gracious smile on her face.

"Good day, Shibata-san, Chiba-san. I am Shiba Miyuki. I'm also a freshman. I look forward to being in your care."

The girl with the glasses responded,"I am Shibata Mizuki. Same here, I also look forward to being in your care."

"Nice to meet you. You can just call me Erika. Can I call you Miyuki?"

"Yes, please do. It'll be hard to distinguish between me and my brother with our family name."

The greetings exchanged between Miyuki and Mizuki seemed appropriate, but Erika was friendly right from the start.

It seemed only Tatsuya was bewildered by Erika's manner of speaking as Miyuki showed no signs of irritation at the almost overly familiar behavior.

"Miyuki, I didn't expect you to be so sociable from your outward appearance."

"You are as open as you appeared to be, Erika."

After growing exasperated by the flattery, her fondness of Erika's frank attitude was understandable. Still, it seemed they had acquired a mutual understanding.

"I'm here to say hello for today. Miyuki-san... can I call you that as well?" Mayumi said.

Miyuki nodded, her unreserved smile replaced by a solemn expression.

"Well then Miyuki-san, we'll catch up another day." Mayumi bode goodbye and started on her way.

However, one of the accompanying male students at the back called Mayumi to stop.

"But President, what about the schedule..."

"We didn't make an appointment beforehand. If she already has another engagement, she should give that priority, right?" Mayumi left.

Following that, the male student glared at Tatsuya so hard he could almost hear his tongue clicking in contempt.

◊ ◊ ◊

"Shall we go back?"

While he had somehow managed to invoke the displeasure of not only the upperclassmen but the student council executive members in less than a day, it was beyond his control. It wasn't likely he would be smooth-sailing for life.

"I'm sorry, Onii-sama. Because of me, people are getting a bad impression of you..."

"It's nothing you need to apologize for."

Without letting Miyuki finish, Tatsuya brought his hand up and placed it on Miyuki's head. As he continued to stroke her hair, her downcast face tinged with red.

To any passerby, the pair of siblings appeared to be approaching a dangerous boundary, but Mizuki and Erika said nothing.

"Well, since we are all here, why don't we go have a cup of tea?" Tatsuya asked.

"Sounds great! There's a nice cake shop around here somewhere."

Tatsuya nodded in agreement. He had planned on going somewhere to commemorate his younger sister's enrollment before going home anyway.

"Shiba-kun I say, when it comes to Miyuki, you don't ponder too deeply over it..."

"You really care about your sister, don't you..."

Whether it was a compliment or a comment from blank amazement, Tatsuya could only remain in bitter silence.

◊ ◊ ◊

The "cake shop" Erika brought them to was in fact a "French cafeteria with delicious dessert". They took their lunch there and spent some time chatting, and by the time they got home, it was close to evening.

There was no one to welcome them. The house, while vastly exceeding the average size, was inhabited only by Tatsuya and Miyuki. He returned to his room and took off his uniform first.

As he was relaxing in the living room, before long, Miyuki, who had finished changing, came down from her room.

While materials made a large progress, apparel design had largely remained the same over time. With her beautiful shapely legs revealed from below the short skirt, Miyuki approached him. For some reason, his little sister's fashion sense tended towards a more revealing nature at home. Even though he seemed to be more or less used to it, her femininity from it frequently caused Tatsuya to feel troubled at where he should set his eyes.

"Onii-sama, would you like something to drink?"

"Sounds good. I would like a coffee then."

"Certainly."

As she headed towards the kitchen, a banded tail of hair swayed behind her.

With the invention of Home Automation Robots (HAR), few people involved themselves with kitchen work belonged to the minority. Miyuki belonged to this minority group.

When friends came to visit, she would normally leave it to the HAR. But, when with Tatsuya alone, she opted to do the labor herself. The grinding of beans and bubbling water reached Tatsuya's ears. Sometimes she would go to the extent of using the simplest paper drip, rather than old coffee maker.

He had tried asking her once, and her reply was that she wanted to do it that way, so it was probably something akin to a hobby for her. At any rate, the coffee Miyuki brewed was most suiting to Tatsuya's taste.

"Onii-sama, here you go." She placed the cup on the side table, came around from the other side and sat beside him.

"Tastes really good."

There was no need to compliment further. From that alone, Miyuki broke into a grin. Then, peering into the satisfied face of her elder brother with her smiling eyes, a relieved look surfaced on her face as she brought the cup to her mouth.

She went to grab his free hand, which he startled at. Still, he relaxed upon seeing her smile.

With that, the two savored their coffee. Neither struck up a forced conversation. Neither were bothered by the presence of the other.

They could talk about plenty; today was the school entrance ceremony, they had made new friends, and, for some reason, they had encountered upperclassmen.

The things that could be discussed were too many for one night. But, in the empty house of theirs, were merely cups tilted in silence "—It's almost time to make dinner."

Holding her empty cup, Miyuki stood. She bent, lowering her lips to Tatsuya's own. Softly pressing them to his for just a moment, she returned to a standing position. Handing over his coffee cup to his little sister's outstretched hand, Tatsuya also stood. The evening deepened into night as usual.


	3. Volume 1 (Enrollment) - Chapter 2

He awoke, washed his face, dressed, and headed downstairs, where Miyuki had started making breakfast.

"Morning, Miyuki. You're up quite early today." It was hardly sunrise.

The first lesson was at 8 A.M. Factoring in the commute, and time for wrapping up breakfast, there would still be an hour extra.

"Good morning, Onii-sama... please help yourself."

She handed him a glass of fresh juice, which he emptied in one breath.

Miyuki's hands stopped.

"Onii-sama, I was actually planning to go with you today..." she lifted a basket of sandwiches.

"I don't really mind, but... will you be coming in your uniform?" He asked, her uniform a stark contrast to the sweatshirt he was wearing.

"I haven't told sensei of our enrollment yet, so..." wearing her uniform would inform him without her having to muster up the courage to say it herself, is what she meant to say.

"Understood. I'm sure Master will be happy to see you...But you know how he gets when he's so excited..."

"If anything happens, Onii-sama, please protect me."

The sweet wink from his little sister brought a smile to Tatsuya's face.

* * *

In the early morning chill, Miyuki glided up the hill, hair fluttering behind her. Without kicking off the ground to propel herself, she zoomed up on her roller blades.

Tatsuya kept pace beside her. Though he was jogging, each stride stretched as far as 10 meters.

"Perhaps I should slow down a bit?" Miyuki asked, having spun around to face Tatsuya.

"No, that's hardly training."

Miyuki used a magic that decreased the effects of gravity, and another that would guide her body to her destination. Tatsuya's magic amplified acceleration upon kicking off the ground, and suppressed upward motion.

Although simple combinations of magic and acceleration spells, they were quite effective, not to mention their simplicity allowed both Miyuki and Tatsuya to maintain invocation.

It'd be hard to say which magic was of a higher difficulty. Miyuki, while appearing to have effortless control, due to lack of foot use, had to manage her motion vector completely with magic.

On the other hand, Tatsuya could determine the direction of his movement with his legs.

One who must reactivate his spell with every step, and another who could not release her control for an instant.

The training each imposed on themselves were of completely different natures.

* * *

Their destination was about ten minutes away from their house, on top of a hill. It could be described as a Temple, however, its inhabitants did not resemble monks in the slightest.

Although the temple was shrouded with hostility, Miyuki entered without hesitation.

Tatsuya had met a violent welcome from about twenty disciples upon passage through the gates.

"Miyuki-kun! Long time no see." A merry voice called out.

Miyuki had turned to look at her elder brother, buried in a mass of people.

"Sensei... please stop erasing your presence and sneaking up on us. We have been looking all over for you..."

"Telling me not to sneak about, Miyuki-kun, is quite a tall order. I'm a shinobi. Sneaking about is what I do."

Wearing the black robe of a monk, with a clean shaven head, he did not seem at all out of place.

"In this day and age, ninjas do not exist. I wish you would understand that."

Even as Miyuki protested, "Don't misunderstand by labeling us ninjas. We are legitimate shinobi. It is a tradition, not an occupation."

"We respect your legitimacy. So please stop it with all the mystery. Why is sensei so..." Frivolous, she had been about to say, but gave up.

This wannabe monk, Kokonoe Yakumo, is a self-proclaimed "shinobi," or, "ninjutsu user". He draws the line at physical capabilities, teaching only the ways of ancient magic.

At a time when magic was first studied as a science, yet still concealed from the public, it was thought of as fiction. It was later born into reality when masteries like ninjutsu were classified as magic rather than medieval martial arts.

As with other magic systems, the legend doesn't tell the whole truth. The "transformations" in the ninjutsu of storytellers are mere high-speed movement and illusions. Not only ninjutsu, but all traditional forms of magic rely on trickery.

Putting aside his priestly attire, his appearance and residence lacked a sense of propriety.

"Is that the uniform of the First High School?"

"Yes, the entrance ceremony was yesterday."

"...Ahh, I knew you would be starting school...That brand new uniform, neat and clean, has some sort of hidden charm... Almost like a flower bud that is about to open. Ah yes?"

At the rising tension, Miyuki backed away.

"Thwack," the sound of an arm chopping down.

"Master, you're frightening Miyuki. Could you please calm down a bit?"

"…Not bad, Tatsuya-kun. Taking me from the back, hah." Whilst blocking Tatsuya's right arm with his left, Yakumo lashed out from the right. As Yakumo somersaulted forwards, aiming a kick at the back of Tatsuya's head, Tatsuya dodged. The gap between the two closed.

A sigh rose from the spectators. At some point, a large circle of people surrounded the two. Yakumo and Tatsuya exchanged blows again. Miyuki's hands clenched anxiously.

* * *

Ever since Tatsuya was a first year in junior high, such chaos would occur before a relative peace settled upon the grounds. The disciples would return to their own exercises, leaving them in the building.

"Here, sensei. Would Onii-sama like some as well?"

"Ooh, Miyuki-kun, thanks," Yakumo, still sweating, took the cup and towel from Miyuki while Tatsuya, sprawled out on the ground, picked himself up.

"Perhaps in a few minutes," he smiled at his little sister's kindness.

"Onii-sama, are you alright...?" As Tatsuya struggled to rise, Miyuki knelt down beside him and began to wipe his forehead with a towel.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Neither noticed Yakumo's warm expression as Tatsuya took the towel and, after a pause, gathered his strength to spring up.

"I'm sorry, I got your skirt dirty."

Tatsuya's jacket was also stained with dirt, but Miyuki hardly needed to point that out.

"This much is nothing." Miyuki smiled in response and instead of brushing off her skirt, took out a thin mobile device.

The front of the device was a force feedback panel, upon which she began entering digits. Miyuki was holding a general mobile CAD. While the bracelet was most popular, Miyuki's CAD could be used with one hand, as many advanced magicians prefer.

A complex pattern of light was drawn with the holding the CAD, as the magic was initiated. The tool of a modern magician, in place of wands and tomes, a machine produced by magical engineering: the CAD.

This device, which incorporates synthetic materials that convert psion signals (magic particles) into electric signals, produces the magic activation ritual.

The activation ritual is the blueprint of magic, containing complex incantations and symbols. Mages infuse psion particles from their bodies into the activation sequence for the CAD, and feed that into the magic operations area using the processing system present in all magicians. The magic operations area is where all the limitations are inputted into the activation sequence in order to assemble the magic ritual. The CAD processes these components in a heartbeat.

Clouds appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around Miyuki and Tatsuya. After the thin mist dissipated, their uniforms were immaculate as ever.

"Onii-sama, would you like breakfast? Sensei, you may join as well." Miyuki asked lightly.

* * *

Both Tatsuya and Yakumo sat on the veranda, stuffing themselves. Miyuki held a sandwich in one hand, as she serviced Tatsuya with the other, handing him tea and plates.

As he watched the scene with a smile, Yakumo sensed ill will from somewhere.

After wiping his hands and mouth, he bowed towards Miyuki, whispering, "It's possible that I'm unable to beat Tatsuya-kun in martial arts already..."

The disciples waiting on Yakumo directed envy at Tatsuya upon those words. Miyuki beamed, but Tatsuya's heart remained unmoved by such simple praise.

"I can't say I'm terribly gratified by those words, considering you just demolished me earlier..." At Tatsuya's grumbling rebuttal, Yakumo gave a surprised laugh.

"That's only natural, Tatsuya-kun. I am your master after all, and I faced you in my home arena. You are still fifteen. Had I fallen to someone a fraction of my age, my disciples would all run away."

"Onii-sama should be more honest. It's rare to be praised by sensei, so you should be proud." Miyuki was still preaching in her virtuous tone, but her mouth shaped a smile.

"...I think that would make me look like a prick..."

Both Yakumo and Miyuki laughed, and even Tatsuya was not so stubborn as to hold himself back from joining in. Tatsuya's bitter smile changed, the severity fading.

In general, commutes are accomplished via mini railcars. Large, high-capacity vehicles are no longer used, except in some long haul cases. Instead, people use a small vehicle, a cabinet, linked to a central control system. Both power and energy is derived from the tracks, which are divided into three speeds and managed by a traffic control system.

Some cabinets only seat one passenger, but others allowed two or more.

Tatsuya and Miyuki travelled together in a cabinet suited for two passengers.

"Onii-sama, the thing is..."

Tatsuya, looked up. His sister rarely spoke so reluctantly.

"Yesterday evening, I received a call from Father, congratulating my admission to First HIgh School… Have they..?"

"Ahh, no... it's the same as always."

The sound of grinding teeth sounded from under Miyuki's gorgeous locks, "They didn't even bother sending an email to Onii-sama... those people are, those..."

"Calm down." As Miyuki struggled with her temper, Tatsuya grasped her hands in his firm grip and squeezed. The temperature in the car had plummeted, activating the heaters out of season.

When she relaxed, apologizing for her outburst, Tatsuya released his sister, grasping her chin and gazing into her eyes.

"I ignored Father's wishes by entering high school. I didn't expect any sort of congratulations."

"For our own parent to act so pathetically is infuriating. When will they stop thinking they can use you however they please? Is it not expected for a 15 year-old to enter high school?"

Tatsuya felt a spark of discomfort. He would not hesitate to disobey orders to leave Miyuki by herself while he worked in the family business.

"There is no compulsory education, so it's not expected, but I'm sure Father and Sayuri-san are simply trying to find a way to make me useful..."

"...If you say so..."

Miyuki hardly knew of Tatsuya's full involvement with 'Four Leaves Technology.' Their father served as developmental section chief of the magic engineering equipment maker. Misinforming her into believing he had a reasonable job was a simple task. If she knew that he was used as a piece of recovery equipment for research samples, it was very possible that she could have paralyzed the entire transport system. In spite of his fears, the train moved on.

* * *

First year class E was in a considerable state of chaos. In all likeliness, this was probably the case in all of the classrooms.

With no new acquaintances to greet, Tatsuya was trying to find his own terminal when his name was called.

"Morning~!" Erika said, energetic as ever.

"Good morning." Mizuki's smile was comparatively modest.

Tatsuya raised a hand in acknowledgement, then approached the pair. It seems they had been sorted alphabetically, hence Shiba Tatsuya and Shibata Mizuki's positions next to each other.

Tatsuya set his ID card into the terminal and began an information check. Countless flashes of information scrolled through his head as he operated the terminal by keyboard, and when he looked up, it was into the face of a male student looking back at him with wide eyes.

When Tatsuya spotted him, he looked like a deer in headlights. "Sorry for staring. It's just that that's pretty rare, so…"

At Tatsuya's head tilt, he continued, "I'm pretty sure it's rare, right? This is the first time I have seen someone only using keyboard input."

"If you're experienced, this method is faster. Although it is also the least accurate.:

"That so...? I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Saijou Leonhart. My specialty is convergent systematic reinforcement magic. My desired course is to hone my body and become either riot police or a mountain corpsman. You can call me Leo."

The courses magicians take are tied closely to their natural ability, which is why Tatsuya didn't find Leo's insertion of his hopes for the future strange at all.

"I'm Shiba Tatsuya, but Tatsuya's just fine."

"Ok, Tatsuya. So, what magic do you specialize in?"

"My practical skills are severely lacking, so I'm planning on becoming a Magic engineer."

"I see... no wonder you look so smart."

Magic engineers. Also magic artificers, are in high demand. While, in terms of social standing, they're below proper magicians, they income of a top magic artificer can surpass that of a legitimate magician. So, it wasn't unusual for those lacking ability in pure magic to aim for a position as a magic artificer.

"Really, Tatsuya? And who's this random guy?"

At the sight of Erika bounding up, Leo looked on in distaste.

Before he could answer, the first bell range, causing students to dissipate and make their way back to their own seats. This system had not changed, although there were some differences. The offline terminals all started up automatically, and those that were already on refreshed their screens. At the same time, a message opened up on the screen at the front of the class.

"—Orientation begins in five minutes, so please wait at your desk. Students who have not yet inserted their ID card, please do so as soon as possible—"

As Tatsuya considered skipping the process, two things happened.

First, the door to the classroom opened. The woman, wearing a suit, approached the teacher's deask and set up a large mobile terminal.

Rarely was there an actual teacher in the classroom, as most classes were conducted through the terminals. Still, there was nothing to indicate this woman was a faculty member.

"Alright, it doesn't seem like anyone is absent. Then, first of all, congratulations to everyone for your acceptance here."

It was not necessary for someone to take attendance, as the ID cards in the terminals updated seating status in real time. There was no need for school officials to carry such large terminals. And who was she anyway?

"It's nice to meet you all. I'm the integration counselor for this school, Ono Haruka. I'm here to establish a mentoring relationship with each of you in case any of you feel like you would like counseling in regards to specialized aspects of your course. (...Come to think of it, there was something along those lines...)

Having someone to talk to about your concerns, was a concept Tatsuya had completely skipped over, but the fact was that the counseling system was a selling point.

"There are 16 such counselors in this school, divided into pairs responsible for one class in each grade. Yanagisawa-sensei and I have been assigned to this class."

At that, she stopped talking and operated the console on the teacher's desk, which displayed a man in his mid thirties. "Nice to meet you, I'm your counselor, Yanagisawa. Along with Ono-sensei, I will be in charge of looking after you. I hope we will get along."

As the screen projected the image of counselor Yanagisawa, "Ono-sensei" continued

"Counseling is available through the terminals, so you do not have to come to us directly. Communication is done through quantum encryption, and the reports are stored via standalone data banks, so everyone's privacy is secure." As she said that, Haruka lifted the large data bank book, which Tatsuya had mistaken for an over-sized mobile terminal.

"The school will fully support you all, so that you can each live a fulfilling life as a student...Everyone, let's work hard together." She had been speaking in a rather serious voice until now, but at that she switched her tone, and spoke softly. All the energy seemed to leak out of the room. Both tension and relaxation, even able to calculate her body language; her emotional control was superb.

Although she appeared young enough to be fresh out of university, her experience was palpable. If you spoke to her one-on-one, you could easily end up saying more than you intended. It would do well to be on guard around her. That feeling only intensified as she turned to the screen, bowed to her bemused colleague, and cut the connection.

With a small cough her professional smile returned, and she continued as if nothing had happened. "By now, the school curriculum and guides on the facilities should have been sent to your terminals. After that, you will register for your electives, and that will be the end of orientation. If there is anything you don't understand, please use the call button. Those who have already familiarized themselves with the curriculum and facilities can feel free to skip guidance and proceed straight to registration."

At this point, Haruka quickly glanced at the monitor on the teacher's desk, and made an 'oh?' expression. "For those who have already finished registration as well, it's fine to leave. However you may not do so after guidance has started, so if you wish to do so, please leave now. If that's the case, please don't forget your ID card."

As if waiting for those words, the sound of a chair scraping across the floor echoed. It was not Tatsuya. The one who stood up was sitting in the front row window seat, a slender, nervous-looking boy. He bowed towards the teacher's desk, then exited into the corridor near the back of the classroom. He faced forwards the whole way, looking neither to his left nor right. It it was rather interesting watching him put on a brave face, if only for a moment.

It was not just Tatsuya, but almost half the class that watched the back of the youth as he disappeared down the corridor. It didn't seem like anyone else was about to go.

Tatsuya did not want to leave so much that he was willing to risk all those stares as well. Returning to the task at hand, Tatsuya placed his hands over the keyboard and considered things to do to kill time, when he sensed a glance and looked up.

From the other side of the teacher's desk, Haruka was watching him. Even as they locked eyes she didn't look away, but went on to flash him a smile. (What was that...) As if even noticing that, Haruka's smile broadened. It wasn't for any length of time, rather so discreet that no other student noticed, but nonetheless carried a secretive air.

He was certain that this was their first ever meeting. Yet it was notably beyond a fake smile, so Tatsuya went through his memories. With that, he killed plenty of time but... (You should relax... was that the meaning behind it? Or is she trying to take away my composure... I won't even consider the possibility that she's come to a classroom in a school without teachers to try to hit on students...) As he considered, he didn't follow the other finished students out of the class, but stayed, pondering.

Then someone spoke up, "Tatsuya, what are you going to do until lunch?"

When he lifted his head, a voice rang out from the seat in front. As if it were his signature pose, Leo was resting his chin on his arms crossed over his chair in the exact same position as earlier.

It is no longer customary to eat in the classroom. Despite advancements in both waterproofing and dust-proofing technology, information terminals remain precision instruments. If you end up doing something like spilling soup all over one, a rather miserable outcome is to be expected. It'd be better to find a more suitable place somewhere, like the cafeteria. Although it was one more hour until the cafeteria opened.

"I had been planning to go look through the reference room catalog from here but... OK, I'll accompany you." At Tatsuya's reply Leo mumbled, but his eyes shone bright.

Tatsuya smiled at Leo's easy to read expressions.

"Then, what are you going to look at?"

Magic is not taught in public school until junior high. For children with magical aptitude, cram schools are the foundation of magic knowledge. This step is not to look for technical skill, but to determine whether they have enough raw talent to make it as a magician.

While some private schools incorporate forms of magical education as extra curricular activities, it is stressed that they are by no means a reflection of magic performance.

Magic begins as a full-fledged education from the senior high school curriculum onward. Although among the magic high schools, the First high school is considered the most difficult to enter, there are many students who come from ordinary junior high schools.

There are specialized magic courses that some students have never seen before. To alleviate confusion stemming from unfamiliarity, the opportunity to observe such classes in progress exists.

"Wanna go to the workshop?" This was Leo's reply to Tatsuya's question.

"Not the arena?"

Taken aback by Tatsuya's next question, Leo grinned. "I guess I would seem to be the type. Well, you're not wrong."

Although not looking down on his intellectual ability, the fact remained that he had a more 'lively outdoors' look. Most likely, it wouldn't only have been Tatsuya who felt he was more suited to the action of the arena than fiddling with machinery in the workshop.

Listening to Leo's next words however, Tatsuya admitted his mistake.

"Reinforcement magic works best when combined with weapon skill. I want to be able to maintain my own weapons as much as possible."

Leo's ambitions were the mountain corps or riot police. If such were realized, he'd have many opportunities to use simple weapons, including, batons, machetes, etc., all of which were compatible with reinforcement magic.

He seemed to have a far firmer grasp of his capabilities than he initially concluded.

"If you're going to the workshop, why don't you come with us?"

While the two of them talked, a proposal sounded from next to them.

"Shibata-san's also going to the workshop?"

"Yes... I also want to be a Magic Artificer."

"Ah, I see!" Erika was barging in all over Mizuki.

It was a similar pattern to prior events, but Leo's face remained neutral.

"How ever you look at it, you're far more suited for physical courses. Go check out the arena."

"I don't want to be told that by a wild animal like you." Tit for tat.

"What was that? You didn't even hesitate in the slightest!"

"Stop it both of you... You've only just met today right?"

Their compatibility really is quite something, isn't it? Tatsuya thought, attempting to mediate with a sigh.

"Heh, you must be a bitter enemy from some previous life."

"You were some bear ravaging the fields, and I was the hunter hired to get rid of you."

"Alright, let's go! We're wasting time." Mizuki had up to now refrained from interrupting, but now she weighed in.

"Yeah! If we don't hurry, we'll be the only ones left in the classroom." Immediately, Tatsuya jumped in.

With their argument interrupted, both parties glared, then spun with their backs to each other.

* * *

As early as the second day of admission, some students began to take action. Tatsuya didn't know whether to think of it as too quick or on par for the course. All he knew was that, if it came to confrontation or surrender, it would most likely be the former.

Both Erika and Leo were bright and optimistic, and Mizuki seemed shy yet carefree. While fully aware of his own inclination towards cynicism and moodiness, Tatsuya considered himself fortunate that they were his first friends in high school.

However, most likely is not 100%. It was nice they hadn't backed down, but how would this turn out? Tatsuya was contemplating the matter.

"Onii-sama..." Miyuki grasped the hem of Tatsuya's uniform with her fingertips, her face a mixture of anxiety and embarrassment.

"Don't apologize, Miyuki. You aren't at fault in the least." Tatsuya replied in a firm tone.

"Yes, but... will you stop them?"

"...That'd be counterproductive."

"...You're right. Still, for Mizuki to have that kind of personality was...unexpected."

"...I agree."

Watching from a step back was a group of new students, a volatile atmosphere simmering between them. One group was comprised of some of Miyuki's classmates, and the other was Mizuki, Erika, and Leo.

The dining hall was considerably larger than those of other high schools, but remained crowded. This spoke not of the high school's overpopulation, which was not the case, but the newcomers' uncertainty.

Yet they had secured a four-seat table with ease, as they had left the classroom early. It was a four seat but due to the facing benches, they could squeeze three of the more slender girls on one side.

About halfway through their meals, Miyuki had arrived, surrounded by a group of students. She spotted Tatsuya and made a beeline for him. The dispute started from there.

Miyuki had tried to eat together with Tatsuya. It wasn't that she refused interaction with her classmates, but that the top priority partner would always be Tatsuya. Only one more person could fit at the table. Whether to choose her classmates or Tatsuya was a matter Miyuki didn't even consider.

Miyuki's classmates, especially the boys, aimed the sit with her. They started with a facade of politeness, but had gone on to say that it was unsuitable to share a table considering the status gap between Miyuki and her brother's group. They ended up telling Leo, who had finished eating, that he was to vacate his seat.

At this selfish display of arrogance, both Erika and Leo were on the verge of exploding. Tatsuya finished his meal in a hurry, talked with Leo and the still-eating Mizuki and Erika, then stood up. Miyuki had grabbed his sleeve as he was leaving, causing her elder brother to look back at her. She soundlessly apologized to Tatsuya and the others before standing to join her brother.

She left behind a group of disappointed young men and two furious weeds.

In the remote precision magic laboratory, otherwise known as the shooting range, a practical class was being carried out by 3rd year class A. It was the class of the student president Saegusa Mayumi.

She was a once- in-a-decade prodigy in remote control precision magic, bringing in countless trophies for the school. That was something even the freshmen had heard. They had also confirmed the rumor of her charming nature at the entrance ceremony.

There were many students at the range trying to get a look at her skill, but the number who could visit was limited. Tatsuya and co. had camped out at the front row. Naturally, he had been unwilling to stand out.

And finally, to the present, Mizuki caustically spat. "Won't you all stop being such poor losers? Miyuki-san has said she wishes to go with her brother. It's not the place of anyone of you to say otherwise?"

Her opponent was a student from class A. It was the guy they had seen in the dining hall during the break.

Tatsuya had been waiting for Miyuki, whose female company had started to accuse the young man. A flock of male students remained in the vicinity, starting out silent, but rapidly losing all restraint.

"Hasn't Miyuki treated you guys well enough already? If she wanted to go with you, she would have said so. What right do you have to try and tear those two apart?"

The one who had lashed out first was, surprisingly, Mizuki. While maintaining her polite demeanor, she slammed mercilessly into them. Even as Mizuki argued with the bloom, her eloquence didn't give an inch.

Yes, everything had started out logically, but...

"I have to admit though, to say that they're trying to tear us apart..." Tatsuya muttered under his breath. He felt a distinct shift.

"Mi-Mizuki, aren't you misunderstanding something?" Hearing her brother's murmurs, Miyuki for some reason asked in a hurry.

"Miyuki... you seem kinda rushed?"

"Eh? No, I'm no such thing?"

"And also kinda forceful?"

Glancing at the close siblings, their friends, full of compassion, began to heat up more and more.

"We've asked her!" That was one of Miyuki's male classmates.

"That's right! We're sorry for Shiba-san, but we just want a little more time!" That was one of Miyuki's female classmates.

At this, Leo gave a hearty laugh, "Ha! That's self-justification. Find a better time for it."

Erika retorted with a smile and edged sarcasm. "If you really had asked, maybe you would've had her consent from the start? You've ignored Miyuki's intentions and didn't consult her at all. There're rules for that. You're high school students already, don't you know anything?"

Erika's words and attitude, designed to offend the other party, affected one student in particular.

"Shut up! Another class, much less weeds, has no right to interfere in matters concerning us blooms!"

Due to its discriminatory nature, school regulations prohibit the use of the word 'weed'. Enforcement was growing harsher, but even so it's not exactly a word to be used with so many people listening.

The one who reacted to this rant head-on was again Mizuki, "We are all freshmen. You guys are blooms, but right now, how are you any better than us?" It wasn't particularly loud, but Mizuki's voice rang through the schoolyard.

"...Well."

Things are going to get pretty bad, Tatsuya sighed under his breath. His murmur was drowned out by the howls of first course students.

"...If you want to know just how much better, I can show you."

Although Mizuki's claim was legitimate according to school regulations, at the same time, it was refuted by the school system.

"Hah, interesting! By all means, show us!" At the first course student's threat, Leo responded.

Having come to this, no outcome other than 'tit for tat' could be expected. The right lay with Mizuki. Those complacent with the current system, both staff and students alike, stood aside. The vast majority would pretend to have seen nothing.

"Then I will!" Only senior student council and certain committee members were permitted to carry a Cad in school. The use of magic off campus was tightly regulated by law, but the possession of CADs was not restricted. There would be no point,as CADs are not essential for the use of magic.

The procedure for students possessing CADs was to drop them at the office for them to hold during the school day. So it was not surprising for students to have CADs on the way back from school.

"A specialized CAD?"

However, if they were directed at fellow students, it would become an emergency. Especially if the aimed CAD was an attack power emphasizing specialized type.

The two types of CADs are general and specialized. The general type places a larger burden on the user but is capable of a wide range of activation sequences. The specialized type can contain a few activation sequences, and makes it possible to invoke magic faster. Due to its nature, combat type sequences are generally stored in specialized CADs.

To the screaming onlookers, the muzzle of that specialized CAD, shaped like a small handgun, was thrust at Leo. That student wasn't just spouting lip service. The finesse with which he drew his CAD, along with the speed with which he took aim, were the movements of someone accustomed to fights between magicians. A large portion of magic is dependent on talent. That means lineage plays a vital role.

Many first course students enter school with excellent results not as a result of studying magic at school but because of parents, family business, possibly gaining combat experience from there.

"Onii-sama!" Even before Miyuki had finished her cry, Tatsuya's right hand stretched out.

There was no way he could reach, but he reached anyway. Was it meaningful, or was it just a meaningless reflexive action. Whatever it was, in this case, nothing came of it. That was because— "Eek!" That scream came from the first course student aiming his CAD.

The handgun CAD had been knocked from his hand. Before their eyes, swinging a baton that had appeared from nowhere, in a relaxed manner, Erika was smiling. Just by looking at that confident alertness, you could tell that, had the same situation occurred 100 times, the first course student's CAD would have gone flying 100 times.

"At this distance, the body moves faster."

"I agree, but you were planning on whacking my hand as well, weren't you?" Leo, whose hands froze in the midst of a grab for the other's CAD, replied.

"A~ra, I wouldn't do something like that."

"Don't laugh it off like that!"

As Erika covered her mouth with an accompanying 'ohohohoho', Leo was nearing the end of his patience.

"I'm serious. Whether you were going to engage or not, I can tell from your stance. You seem like an idiot, but your arm speaks otherwise,"

"...Are you making fun of me? You're making fun of me right to my face?"

"That's why I said you look like an idiot right?"

Forgetting the 'enemy' before them, all onlookers seemed to be taken aback. Still, Miyuki's classmate recovered the fastest. It wasn't the student whose CAD had been knocked away, but the one who ran her fingers across a bracelet-shaped general CAD.

The inbuilt system started up, beginning an activation sequence. The activation is sequence itself does not affect the real world. The activation is transferred to an area between the conscious and subconscious. This is were important variables are inputted. The result is then inserted into the CAD, which takes the psions provided by the activation sequence and forms them into those that can be used to rewrite Eidos

Eidos is the modification to psions that causes the temporary modification of real world events.

The speed with which Psions are written is called processing power, whereas the strength of which they are built is the capacity of magic. The strength with which Eidos can be rewritten is interference strength.

Specialized CADs are often shaped in the form of guns because, the aiming system in the barrel allows coordinate input, reducing the calculation load on the user. If the flow of Psions is disrupted, then magic dependent on CADs will no longer work.

For example, if a load of Psions are fired from outside, the Psion pattern of the activation ritual will be scrambled, erasing the magic.

Like now.

"Stop right there! Using attack magic on others for any reason other than self-defense is a criminal offense!"

The expanding activation sequence was shattered by a bullet of Psions. Releasing a psion bullet requires extremely precise control in order to destroy just the activation sequence and avoid any extraneous damage.

Upon recognizing the owner of that voice, the female student intent on attacking Erika grew pale. She fell into another female student, collapsing. The one who gave the warning and fired the Psion bullet, was the Student Council president, Saegusa Mayumi.

Her ever-smiling face, even now, did not have much severity in it. But, the the eyes of someone capable of magic, her small figure was wrapped in an unnatural psion light.

"You are students from 1A and 1E aren't you? I will hear you out. Please come along." A hard, even cold voice, came from the girl next to Mayumi, Watanabe Mari, also the public Moral Chief.

Mari's CAD held an already deployed and expanded activation sequence. It was not difficult to imagine what any form of resistance here would lead to. The students stiffened up. Moving not out of rebellion, without a trace of pride,Tatsuya walked with an even, measured gait, followed by Miyuki, to stand before Mari.

Mari cast a quizzical glance at these first years who had strode up. To Mari, these two had not seemed like involved parties. Tatsuya took her gaze without flinching, and stopped at a respectable distance.

"We're sorry, the prank went too far."

"Prank?" At those words, Mari's eyebrows arched.

"Yes. Morisaki's quick-draw is famed, so I asked him to give a demonstration, but it got out of hand."

The student who had confronted Leo with his CAD opened his eyes wide with surprise. Mari glanced at the baton in Erika's hand, the pistol shaped device lying on the ground, then turned to Tatsuya with a cold smile.

"Then why did that girl from 1A try to use attack magic?"

"Being able to start up activation processes as a conditioned reflex is truly worthy of a first course student." His expression was deadpan, although his voice was somewhat shameless.

"Your friends were about to be attacked by magic, but you still insist it was a prank?"

"Even if you call it an attack, all she intended to fire was a flash of blinding magic. It wasn't on a level where it could have caused blindness or impairment." A collective intake of breath.

The sneer turned into admiration. "Hoou... it seems you're somehow able to read the activation sequence before it's deployed."

The activation ritual is a large block of data for building a magic ritual. Mages can intuitively guess what kind of effect the ritual would have. Processing the activation sequence requires the mental recreation of endless strings of information. Normally, such things cannot be done in the consciousness.

"I'm no good at practicals, but I'm confident in my analyses." As if it was nothing, Tatsuya dismissed the skill with the one word, 'analyses'.

"...Your misinformation skills are also quite something." Her look was something between an appraisal and glare. Miyuki came forward to protect her brother bearing the brunt of the investigation.

"As my brother said, this was all a misunderstanding. We are very sorry for bothering you all, senpai." Without the slightest deceit, she bowed deeply.

"Mari, it's fine already. Tatsuya-kun, that was just a demonstration, right?"

When did she start calling him by name? Tatsuya thought, but he couldn't refuse the timely help from Mayumi. As he nodded with the same deadpan expression, Mayumi gave a triumphant smile.

"It is not prohibited for students to teach each other, but you are prohibited from executing magic. This is taught in the first semester in the classroom. It's best to refrain from self-study."

Mari also gave a word on the matter. "...Since the President has said so, I will refrain this time. I don't want there to be a second time."

Without looking like bitter enemies, together they straightened and gave a bow. Mari turned around.

But after one step, she stopped, her back still turned to them."Your name?"

"First year class E, Shiba Tatsuya."

"I'll remember that." Holding back a 'no problem', Tatsuya swallowed a sigh.

* * *

"...Don't think I owe you anything." The student who acted first, also the student whom Tatsuya had protected, glared at Tatsuya and said as much with a thorny tone.

Tatsuya returned the gaze of the course A student who suddenly grew a spine.

"I don't think that at all, so don't worry. What got you off wasn't my glib tongue but rather Miyuki's sincerity."

"I came along because even though Onii-sama is good at talking people down, he has problems convincing them."

"Indeed."

His look of artificial reproach faded, replaced by a wry smile. "...My name is Morisaki Shun. As you thought, I am of the Morisaki house." Seeing the warm banter between the siblings, his hostility faded somewhat.

Tatsuya and Morisaki shared a glance without moving.

"I still don't acknowledge you, Shiba Tatsuya. Shiba-san's place should be with us." Without waiting for Tatsuya's reply, Morisaki left.

"Suddenly calling me by my full name, huh." As Tatsuya muttered to himself at a volume just loud enough to hear, Morisaki gave an involuntary shudder.

His stubbornness was unlikely to stop there. Beside him, hearing his murmur, Miyuki seemed disquieted. She had always been worried that her brother's knack for making enemies would cause trouble. But more than that, she had had enough of Morisaki's prejudices.

"Onii-sama, shall we head back?"

"Yeah, you're right. Leo, Chiba-san, Shibata-san, let's go." Sharing their mental fatigue, the two began to leave.

As if to cut them off, to make things worse, a pair of class A girls stood in their way. Exchanging looks with Miyuki, the moment dragged on. Understanding her brother's intent, Miyuki was about to bid them farewell, but then the other opened her mouth.

"I'm Mitsui Honoka. I'm sorry for saying all those things earlier." She bowed, fully honest, and Tatsuya was rather embarrassed.

This girl, who earlier wasn't hiding her elitism to say the least, seemed to have had a complete turnaround.

"Thank you for protecting me. Morisaki-kun waved it off, but it's thanks to Senpai that it didn't become a huge issue."

"...It was nothing. Although, please stop with the Senpai. We're same year students."

"I understand. Then, what should I call you..." A fierce conviction blazed in her eyes.

It'd be nice if this didn't become troublesome, he thought, as he took care to reply in a neutral manner. "Tatsuya is fine."

"...Alright. And so, um..."

"...What is it?" Miyuki stood before Honoka.

"...Is it alright to go with you to the station?" Nervously, but with a hidden conviction, Honoka asked to accompany them.

With a sense of surprise, Erika and Mizuki shared a look. Though they had plenty reason to refuse, they didn't.

* * *

There was a delicate air on the way back to the station.

Next to Tatsuya was Miyuki and, for some strange reason, Honoka.

"...Then, the one who assists with Miyuki-san's adjustments is Tatsuya-san?"

"Yes. I feel most at ease when entrusting things to Onii-sama." In response to Honoka's question, Miyuki answered proudly.

"I just do a bit of arranging. Miyuki has amazing processing ability, so there's not much maintenance required for the CAD."

"Even so, if you only have the knowledge to simply understand the device OS you can't do much."

"I don't have the skill to access the CAD core systems. That's too much."

"Tatsuya-kun, could you also look over my CAD?" Looking back was Leo and Erika.

After she changed from referring to him as Shiba-kun to Tatsuya-kun, he insisted he call her Erika. Mizuki had also insisted on the trade.

"Impossible. I have no faith in my ability to handle such a specialized CAD."

"Ah ha, you really are quite something, Tatsuya-kun." It was hard to tell if Tatsuya was being serious or humble, but Erika's reaction was simple praise.

"Why?"

"You realized this was my CAD." At Tatsuya's question, Erika laughed, twirling the retracted baton by the attached strap.

"Eh? That baton's a device?" Sure enough, Mizuki's eyes went round with surprise, and Erika gave a quick nod.

"Thank you for your normal reaction, Mizuki. If everyone had already noticed, I would've face-planted."

Listening to that exchange, Leo inquired further. "...Where is the system built in? From the feeling earlier, it's not hollow is it?"

"No luck. Apart from the handle it's totally hollow. It increases strength by using the technique of carving seals into it. Reinforcement magic is your field isn't it?"

" Wouldn't it bleed a considerable amount of Psions? You'd run out of gas pretty often, wouldn't you? Carved seals are pretty inefficient in the first place, so I didn't think anyone still used it."

At Leo's points, Erika's eyes widened in both surprise and admiration. "Ooh, your field indeed. But there's one more thing. Strengthening is only needed during expansion and the moment of impact. If I limit Psion emission to those moments, I don't waste too much. It's the same principle as the helm splitter. ...eh, what happened, guys?"

"Erika... I'm pretty sure something like helm splitter was classified as a secret or mystery technique. That's far more amazing than emitting large amounts of Psion." Miyuki answered on behalf of everyone.

It was pointed out rather casually.

"Both Tatsuya-kun and Miyuki-san are amazing, but Erika-chan is also amazing... Are normal people rare at our high school?"

"I don't think there are any normal people in a magic high school." At Mizuki's natural remark, Kitayama Shizuku, another first course student, retorted.


	4. Volume 1 (Enrollment) - Chapter 3

"Tatsuya-kun... Are you acquainted with the President? That didn't look like a first meeting."

Ah, yes, he agreed, she was much too familiar with him.

"...Maybe because she knows Miyuki?"

As the five of them were walking, they heard a call from behind them, accompanied by rapid footsteps.

Speak of the devil.

"Are you alone, President?"

She nodded. "I would like to speak with Miyuki about a few things... Maybe we could take a walk? Or do you have plans already?"

When she told her of her plans to eat in the cafeteria, Mayumi asked, "With Tatsuya-kun?"

"No, Onii-sama and I are in different classes..." Mayumi nodded in understanding, recalling the events of the previous day.

Tatsuya glanced sideways.

"Why don't you join me in the Student Council Room for lunch? The room has an automatic meal dispenser, and Tatsuya-kun can tag along—it won't be a problem."

"...Speaking of problems, there seems to be one between myself and the vice president- and for that I apologize."

Mayumi's head cocked. "You don't have to worry about Hanzou-kun, it won't be a problem. In fact," she turned to the other students, "you may all come, if you like. It is our duty to inform the students of our activities."

"I think we'll pass," Erika said.

A tense aura settled over her.

"Is that so?" In spite of the refusal, Mayumi's smiling face did not change.

"So just Miyuki and Tatsuya?"

Refusing was still a valid option, but following the response from Erika's group, there was no way to smoothly decline.

"...I understand."

"Excellent. I'll see you two later..." She left with a spring in her step.

Tatsuya sighed.

* * *

Lunch arrived, and despite a few joking attempts, the heavy atmosphere prevailed.

Their destination, at the end of the hall on the fourth floor, was a door, identical to all the others, with an engraving displaying its purpose as student council room.

After Miyuki requested entry through the speaker mounted near the door, a cheerful welcome sounded from the opposite end, followed by the clicking of the lock. Tatsuya placed his hand on the knob and pushed it open, stepping in before his sister.

"Welcome. Don't mind us, please come in."

Miyuki led the way, bowing in a textbook greeting.

Mayumi seemed to shrink a little, "Eh... No need to be so formal. Please sit. We can talk while we eat."

The siblings approached the table, discussing the menu and what meal options they preferred.

After receiving their orders, the 2nd Year student, Nakajou Azusa — activated the large machine tucked near the wall. Now, to wait.

Mayumi sat in the main chair, with the Shiba siblings sitting next to each other and the remaining members across from them.

Mayumi began, "Just in case, we'll go over everyone's names and roles. This," she gestured to the girl seated next to her, "Is Rin-chan, our accountant."

"...The only one who calls me that is the president." Every part of her solemn face gave off a stern impression. Still, he had to admit, "Rin-chan" fit her profile better than her full name.

"The two of you should know the one next to Rin-chan, right? This is the Chair of the Public Moral Committee Watanabe Mari."

"And following that is our Secretary, Nakajou Azusa, also known as A-chan."

"Please don't call me 'A-chan'"

Her petite figure and child like face, perhaps, contributed to the nickname.

That might be too cruel a truth.

"The last one is vice president Hanzou." She stopped, "Ah, the preparations are complete." The cover to the dinner server opened, presenting neat and proper meals, and the discussion momentarily paused as everyone stood to retrieve their meals, aside from Mari, who brought her lunch from home.

With the table open for any conversation, no one was quite sure what topic to introduce. So, naturally, they turned to the topic of food.

"Did you make that bento yourself, Watanabe-senpai?" Miyuki said.

And thus ensued the meaningless discussion on food, until Mayumi intervened.

"It's about time we get to the point."

Tatsuya and Miyuki nodded.

"The student council has been granted great powers within the confines of the school. Not only our school, but most public high schools also adopt a similar method.

"Our student council concentrates authority in the president, in a way known as extreme centralization." Hearing these words triggered some unease. Tatsuya clasped his fist.

"The president is elected by the student body, and the other members are appointed by the president."

Mari added, "My position as the Chair of the Public Moral Committee is an exception. The student council, club management group, and the teachers each select a representative to determine this position."

"Because of this, on some level Mari holds the same authority I do. Under the rules, the president has a term period of one year, but the others do not. In that year, the president has the right of appointment and removal for all officers."

Tatsuya did not interrupt, but indicated he understood.

"There is an annual tradition to invite the 1st Year representative to the Student Council, with the intent of training them to become the president's successor. Although it is not a guarantee, this has been the case for the past 5 years.

"So... Miyuki, I hope you will accept your invitation to enter the Student Council..." Miyuki looked down at her hands before raising her eyes towards Tatsuya. Tatsuya shrugged.

"President, are you aware of Onii-sama's entrance examination scores?"

It was all Tatsuya could do to remain silent.

"Of course. To be honest, when I stole a glance, even I lost confidence."

"...If the student council accepts students with high test scores and outstanding abilities, I believe Onii-sama fits the criteria."

"Wait, Mi-"

"In terms of desk work and theory, that has nothing to do with practical skills and grades. Knowledge and judgment are more important." She hardly ever cut off a person mid-sentence.

"I am honored to receive an invitation to the Student Council. I would be more than happy to accept even the lowest position, but is there any way for Onii-sama to join?"

Tatsuya wanted to cover his face and look skywards.

"Alas, this is not possible," Suzune (Rin-chan) answered. "Student council members must be selected from Course 1 students. This is the only clause attached to the right of appointment and removal for the president. To change this requires a vote of the entire student body in which two-thirds of them agree. Since there is an equal number of students in each course, this is practically impossible."

"...I apologize. I said that without understanding the situation." Miyuki rose to her feet and bowed deeply, but no one reprimanded her.

"In that case, Miyuki will join the current Student Council with the title of secretary, is that acceptable?"

She indicated her acceptance.

Mayumi nodded, "You can get the details from A-chan today after school, if you're not busy, Miyuki?"

"Of course."

"...There is still a little time left until the end of lunch. May I say something?" Mari raised her hand, drawing everyone's attention. "The roster for the Public Moral Committee still has one empty spot that has not been filled."

"We are still reviewing possible candidates. Besides, school only started a week ago, right? There's no need to hurry, Mari." Displeased with Mari's hastiness, Mayumi admonished her. Mari didn't seem to care.

"According to student council rules, all members aside from the president must be Course 1 students, right?"

"Yes. The rules stipulate that the council is made up of the president, vice president, accountant, and secretary roles."

"In other words, there is no restriction for bringing a Course 2 student into the public moral committee."

"Mari, you..."

All wore similarly shocked expressions.

"NICE!"

At Mayumi's delighted outburst, Tatsuya let out a dull noise of surprise.

"Yes, there's no problem with the that. Mari, the student council nominates Shiba Tatsuya as public moral committee member."

"Wait a minute! Shouldn't you take into account my thoughts on the matter? Also, you haven't told me the duties of a member." His instincts urged that this was a dangerous development.

"Well, to uphold the public moral on campus, of course," Mayumi answered

"...Is that all?"

"While the job doesn't come with any sense of accomplishment, and is also quite troublesome... it's still a rewarding task?"

"That wasn't what I meant."

Tatsuya shifted his gaze to the right. In Suzune's eyes, he discovered a pitying look, but she didn't look like she was going to help.

The others appeared similarly, but he locked eyes with Azusa.

"Um, our school's public moral committee is an organization that handles policing those who break school rules." —Like her outer appearance, Azusa was weak under pressure.

"In terms of public morals, they usually consist of things like uniform regulations or tardiness... The primary duties are to identify and handle those that use magic against school rules or cause a disturbance. After the committee member decides the punishment, he or she will present before the committee alongside the president and student representative. In short, they are both the police and the prosecutor."

"Isn't that wonderful, Onii-sama."

"No, Miyuki... Please wait a little before making up your mind. Let me clarify a few things first."

"Clarify what?"

"According to the earlier explanation, the Public Moral Committee member's mission is to halt any conflicts upon discovery, correct?"

"Well, that's true. We also intercede on non-magical conflicts."

"Also, if magic was used, our intervention is mandatory."

"If possible, it'd be best to resolve the conflict prior to the use of magic."

"That's my point! My technical grade is terrible, and on top of that, I'm a Course 2 student!" Finally, Tatsuya's voice raised in volume.

Mari remained completely unperturbed. "It's not a problem. In competitions of power, I'll handle it... Lunch break is almost over. Let's save the rest for after school, any objections?"

None were voiced.

"Then we'll meet again here." Tatsuya nodded.

At his side, Miyuki could not hide her elation.

* * *

Even with the most advanced interfaces, virtual experience was no match for reality. Procedures conducted under anything less than life-like circumstances hardly yield the desired results.

1st Year Class E was in the middle of a practice class. Having said that, there wasn't a real-time teacher present. The instructions displayed on the monitor taught the most basic of basics; operation of the built-in educational use CAD. The device guided each and every learning sessions, and could be used to track assignments.

Today's assignment was to use the CAD to direct a flatbed car from one end of its track to the other three times. Despite the lack of a reminder, it was a given that manual operation was strictly forbidden.

"Tatsuya, how was that thing with student council?" Leo asked after poking the male in the back.

"They asked me to join the public moral committee..."

"That was pretty sudden."

"But isn't it great to be scouted by student council?" Mizuki stopped on the way to the end of the line for her reattampt.

"Great? Isn't this a complementary bundle for my little sister?" Erika smiled at Tatsuya's suspicion.

"Well, well, let's stop with all that self-depreciation. So, what does the Public Moral Committee do anyway?"

After hearing Erika's question, Tatsuya repeated what he heard from Azusa. Hearing that, all three pairs of eyes widened. "Quite the troublesome task..."

"If it's not safe, then..." Mizuki looked at Erika, "Erika-chan, what's wrong?"

"So impulsive..." Her gaze drifted.

Someone called for her attention, as she had zoned out.

"Ah, sorry. That really is too far, Tatsuya-kun. You're better off declining the invitation." At that solemn expression, Erika's voice suddenly brightened, "It's still quite interesting! Why don't you accept? I'll cheer you on."

Erika, joking as always, attempted to disguise what she said earlier, but it still appeared to Tatsuya that she was hiding something.

"But if you have to intervene in conflicts, won't you be a target as well?"

"Yeah, and there will be people who mistake good intentions for cold-blood."

"Well, rather than letting those pretentious Course 1 students hog the limelight, don't you think it's better if Tatsuya does it?"

Tatsuya wasn't rash enough to join their conversation. As they debated, he paid specific attention to something Erika said.

"There is a lot of suspicion and injustice in the world. We can't always expect a positive result if we concede all the time."

Before it led to dangerous territory, Tatsuya brought the conversation to a stop, "Erika, it's your turn."

"Ah, sorry, sorry." At Tatsuya's nudging, Erika assumed her position, completely focused.

Erika's back shook a little as she breathed deeply. It happened in a second, although invisible to the naked eye. The fluctuations of the psions passed over Erika's back and could be "seen" in the form of a light that only magicians could perceive.

This was a sign that the activation and subsequent invocation did not use all psions, as the leftover psions created this psion light. Highly skilled Magicians only leave behind small amounts of psion light, but for a 1st Year high school student, this was acceptable.

The flatbed shifted forward, then returned to its original position. This occurred three times. "Yes!"

The purpose of the exercise was to practice acceleration and deceleration. Because there were no set vectors for such, a stable moving flatcar gauged immense skill.

Erika displayed a victorious hand signal as she moved towards the end of the line behind Mizuki. Next, Tatsuya took his place before the built-in CAD. He stepped on the pedal switch to adjust the CAD height, placed his palm on the transparent touchpad resting atop a large box, and began to manipulate the psion flow. What returned was the sound of the activation confirmation, mixed with various conflicting noises. Tatsuya began to build the invocation sequence. The flatbed car stumbled two or three times before moving forward in a stable motion.

Because today's assignment was to get used to operating a CAD, there was no timer installed. Besides Tatsuya himself, no one would know. The pause before the flatbed had started moving was greater than Erika's by a large margin. Out of the 25 people in Class E, he would definitely be one of the bottom feeders.

It was not immediately obvious only because the motion of the flatbed car was roughly the same as the others. However, Tatsuya was well aware of his own disappointing performance.

* * *

After school, Tatsuya headed towards the student council room, dragging heavy footsteps. Miyuki remained silent.

A male student approached the pair, his gaze sharp.

Tatsuya remembered his face.

On the day of enrollment, he was the 2nd Year awaiting orders from Mayumi, standing next to her. That must make him the vice president. He stood as tall as Tatsuya, but with slightly more narrow shoulders, with a handsome visage and overall unremarkable build. From the way psion light clung to the air around his body, he had to have considerable magic power.

"I am the vice president, Hattori Gyoubu. Shiba Miyuki, welcome to the student council." His right hand shook a little.

Hattori returned to his seat while completely ignoring Tatsuya. A chill of air gathered behind Miyuki, but that disappeared in an instant. She controlled herself. Tatsuya rubbed her soothingly and discreetly on her lower back.

"Ah, you're here," Mayumi said. "In that case, no need to delay. A-chan, if you please."

Azusa's head drooped before she put on a wooden smile and led Miyuki to the nearby terminal.

"Well, let's be off." said Mari.

"Where to?" Tatsuya replied.

"Public Moral Committee headquarters. There's a lot you need to see firsthand to understand. It's located directly underneath this room, connected."

Tatsuya took a breath before replying. "...That's quite the strange design."

"I thought so too." Mari began to stand up.

A comment stopped her. "Watanabe-senpai, please wait a minute." The voice came from Vice President Hattori.

Upon hearing this, Mari replied "Is something the matter, Hattori Gyoubushoujou Hanzou?"

"Please don't address me by my full name!"

Tatsuya glanced at Mayumi, who tilted her head.

"Then let's go with Vice President Hattori Hanzou." Mari said

"Please call me Hattori Gyoubu! The school has already accepted the name! ...No, that's not what I wanted to say."

"That's because you're too formal, isn't it?"

"Ok, ok, Mari, Hanzou also has things he won't back down from." Everyone's gaze fell on the speaker, Mayumi.

"Watanabe-senpai, I wanted to speak with you about the replacements for the Public Moral Committee." The blood that had caused Hattori's face to flush completely red receded.

"What?"

"I object to you appointing this student to the Public Moral Committee."

Mari's eyebrows wrinkled in a way that Tatsuya could not tell if she was surprised or irritated.

"What is this nonsense? The one who nominated Shiba Tatsuya-kun is President Saegusa. The right of appointment remains with her alone."

"I have heard that the receiving party has not agreed. Despite the nomination, the matter is unofficial until he personally agrees."

"That is up to Shiba Tatsuya-kun himself. The President has already elaborated on the decision of the Student Council. The final decision is his, not yours."

Hattori never looked at Tatsuya.

Miyuki stood with a subtle expression, thought she was probably a hair's width away from exploding. For entirely different reasons, both Tatsuya and Azusa were growing very worried.

"There is no precedence for appointing a Weed to the Public Moral Committee."

Upon hearing this, Mari raised a brow. "That's a taboo term, Vice President Hattori. A taboo term as banned by the Public Moral Committee. You have a lot of nerve using that in front of me, the Chair of the Public Moral Committee."

Facing Mari's warning, Hattori showed no sign of weakness. "You can ban that term all you want. Do you plan on punishing a third of the entire student body? The difference between blooms and weeds is written into the school system and acknowledged by the school itself. Public Moral Committee members are responsible for disciplining students that break school rules. A weed with inferior abilities is incapable of accomplishing that task."

Mari only smiled. "It is true that the Public Moral Committee is ability-based, but ability comes in many forms. According to you, the people with low combat capability are unnecessary. So, do you plan to challenge me, Vice President Hattori?" She only said this because of her combat record.

Hattori had no plans to surrender to the enormous pressure. "This isn't about me. It's about his ability to adapt."

The bottom line was that Hattori believed his stance was correct. Course 2 students with inferior abilities could not handle the responsibilities of the committee. The fact that no Course 2 student had ever been appointed supported this.

In spite of this, Mari's confidence surpassed Hattori.

"Did I not say that ability comes in many forms? Tatsuya-kun can read the activation sequence and accurately predict the magic being invoked with his eyes and brain."

"...What did you say?"

Reading the activation sequence. This by all means should be impossible.

"In other words, even before the magic has been invoked, he already knows what magic his opponent is using. According to school rules, depending on the type of magic used, the punishment changes. If we were to disrupt the activation sequence before invocation like Mayumi did, there is no way to tell what magic was used. If we waited until the activation sequence finished, then that would defeat the purpose. Thus it is safer to disrupt magic during the activation sequence. Without any definite accusations, we can only charge them with attempted disruption, and enforce the lighter punishment. With Tatsuya, we can properly catch those that use stronger magics."

"...But, if he ran across an actual crime scene, and was unable to stop the magic invocation..."

"In that case, it would be beyond a Course 1 student anyways. How many people do you know that are able to invoke second and still manage to deny their opponent from invoking first? Besides that, there is still one more reason I want him to join the Public Moral Committee." Mari tabled the first reason and started another. "To this day there is no Public Moral Committee member that comes from Course 2 students. In other words, Course 2 students that improperly use magic against school rules are apprehended by Course 1 students. As you said, there is a wide divide between Course 1 and Course 2 students. Course 1 students can apprehend Course 2 students, but the reverse is not true. This configuration has only served to widen that division."

"Ah... Quite impressive, Mari. I thought you only cared about Tatsuya-kun."

"Please be quiet, President." Mayumi was stopped by Suzune.

"President... as the vice president, I object to appointing Shiba Tatsuya as a Public Morals Committee member. A student lacking in magic ability can't perform disciplinary duties appropriately. This misplaced appointment will damage your reputation. Please reconsider." said Hattori.

"Please wait!" Tatsuya turned at Miyuki's outburst. Absorbed in Mari's speech, he had missed the right time to restrain her.

"This may sound audacious, Vice President. My brother's practical magic results may be unfavorable, but that was because the test was not effective in gauging his strength. In a real battle, my brother would not lose to anyone." On hearing those words, Mari's eyes widened. Mayumi's smile disappeared, and her serious eyes turned towards the siblings.

"Shiba-san." Miyuki, he meant. "Regardless of what happens, a magician must make judgments calmly and logically. Individual bias may be unavoidable for a normal person, but for someone in your position, that shouldn't cloud your judgement."

There was no kindness felt in the admonishment.

Sure enough, Miyuki was getting increasingly heated up.

"Pardon me for saying so, but my judgment is not clouded! If Onii-sama could use more of his power—"

"Miyuki." Tatsuya held his hand in front of Miyuki, who had completely lost her cool. She hung her had as Tatsuya approached Hattori.

Miyuki had indeed said too much, but she was not the only one to blame; Hattori was the one who caused it.

"Vice-President Hattori, why don't we have a mock battle?"

"What...?" the surrounding members looked in dumbfounded amazement.

"Don't be so conceited as a spare!" Azusa shrieked. The other upperclassmen remained composed.

A wry smile surfaced on Tatsuya's face.

"What's so funny?!" Hattori said

"A magician should remain calm, right?"

Having his own words thrown back at him, Hattori sputtered.

Tatsuya didn't stop there. "We can't know each other's battle skills without fighting. It's not like I want to become a Public Morals Committee member but... if it proves my little sister's judgment is not clouded, then it cannot be helped."

To Hattori, it sounded like a challenge.

"...Fine. I'll teach you a lesson. Know your place. "

Mayumi interjected, "As the Student Council President, I authorize the formal mock battle match between Hattori Gyoubu and Shiba Tatsuya."

"On the basis of the Student Council President's declaration, as the Chair of Public Morals Committee, I recognize the match between the two of you as a legitimate extracurricular activity in abidance of the school rules."

"The time of the match will be thirty minutes from now, at the third practice room. The match will be a private one, and I authorize the use of CADs by both sides."

It was a measure to prevent the match from becoming a brawl. On the declaration from Mayumi and Mari, Azusa typed furiously on her terminal.

* * *

"We're only three days into school, and already the cat's gonna be dragged out of the bag.

After retrieving his CAD case in exchange for the approval letter, Tatsuya grumbled.

Behind him came a voice on the verge of tears. "I'm really sorry..."

"It's nothing you need to apologize for."

"But all this trouble is because of me..."

Turning around, and taking half a step, Tatsuya reached to his sister's head. Miyuki's body trembled as she closed her eyes.

"I said this already, right? I feel saved when you get angry in my place... when I can't do it myself. Don't apologize."

He wiped her tears off with a finger, prompting her to smile.

Tatsuya smiled and opened the door to the practice room.

"This is surprising."

He cocked his head.

"I was referring to your unexpected enthusiasm at fighting. I thought you wouldn't be bothered by those remarks." Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

A deep sigh welled in his throat, but Tatsuya, with his steely self-restraint swallowed it. "I thought it was the job of a Public Morals Committee member to stop fights." He couldn't help but let loose a somewhat sarcastic remark.

"This is not a fight. It's a formal match. Mayumi said it too, didn't she? The rule of strength is not applied between the different course students. Rather, it is something applied between Course 1 students only. This is the very first time we are using this between a Course 1 and Course 2 student, you see."

"Didn't the number of 'formal matches' increase since you became Chairwoman, senpai?"

"Indeed, it did increase." Tatsuya and Miyuki smiled wryly.

Then, Mari turned serious, drawing closer, "So, how confident are you?"

Miyuki's beautiful eyebrows rose at hear proximity. Even with Mari's head partially lowered with a pair of upturned eyes, and a sweet scent drifting toward him, Tatsuya didn't show any sort of reaction. Instead any potential arousal was converted into mere information.

"Hattori is among the top five in our school. He's one heck of an opponent." Mari's whispered cordial words paired oddly with an alluring high pitch.

Tatsuya replied mechanically, "I'm not thinking of fighting him head on."

"You are pretty calm... I've lost a little confidence."

Grinning as she stepped back, Mari walked to the starting line.

He opened his CAD case, its dark velvet harnessing a pair of handguns. He removed one, pulled out a cartridge, and exchanged it with something else. Everyone watched with deep interest.

"Sorry for the wait."

"Do you always carry storage cartridges with you?"

A specialized CAD only stores nine types of activation sequences, compared to the ninety-nine of a generalized CAD, thus CAD storage devices became necessary.

"Yes, I am unable to smoothly operate the generalized CAD."

Hattori, standing across from him, sneered upon hearing this, but without effect to Tatsuya.

"Allow me to explain the rules. No attacks that cause direct harm to the physical body. However, attacks that do not result in anything greater than bone fractures are permitted. No weapons at any time. Hand-to- hand combat is allowed. If you plan on kicking, please change into the school's soft boots. Defeat is determined by the judge, when she has determined that one side is unable to continue. Both sides please move to your starting lines, and do not activate your CAD until my signal. Breaking the rules results in an automatic defeat."

Both Tatsuya and Hattori nodded, walked to the starting lines, and stood facing one another. Hattori's expression was solemn, but still betrayed an easy-going demeanor.

Even if the opponent possessed immense physical speed, magic was still faster at this distance. Because this was a magic-based contest, whoever uses the superior magical attack has the advantage. In other words, the first to invoke wins

Even if the initial attack did not defeat the opponent, some degree of damage was unavoidable. There were very few people that had the mental discipline to absorb magical damage and still work their magic properly. Under the condition that both sides activated their CADs at the same time, Hattori firmly believed in his victory.

CAD was a tool that minimized casting time. Even if someone tried to use a non-CAD based magical ability before the signal, it would still be no match against the CAD's speed. On top of that, the speed of invokation made up the bulk of an individual's magic technical score. This was the defining difference between Course 1 and Course 2 students.

Tatsuya held a handgun-shaped specialized CAD, known for its speed, and Hattori wore a traditional bracelet generalized CAD, known for its versatility.

Tatsuya pointed his CAD to the floor and waited for the signal.

The simulation room returned to complete silence.

"...Begin!"

Hattori slid his hand over the CAD. While the action only consisted of tapping three key points, not a movement was wasted.

The activation sequence was already complete, and in a flash, Hattori had already entered the magic invocation stage. He almost let out a cry of surprise. His opponent, that arrogant 1st Year, was somehow close enough to fill his vision.

He hurriedly changed his target, preparing to unleash his magic. Any opponent caught would be flung over a dozen meters and knocked unconscious.

But, the magic ended without invoking. There should have been no problems with the sequence. His opponent had vanished.

While the target did not have to be specific, if the original target disappeared out of sight, spell failure was inevitable. A powerful wave approached Hattori from the flank. Three consecutive wave motions, each overlapping with one another inside Hattori. This caused massive swaying within him, resulting in Hattori losing consciousness.

The match lasted less than 5 seconds. Hattori keeled over.

"...Winner, Shiba Tatsuya." Mari announced

He gave a short bow, then walked towards his CAD cases. His posture showed whole uninterested in victory.

"Wait." Mari called out from behind him. "Did you input a speed ability beforehand?"

At the moment the start signal was given, Tatsuya had moved in front of Hattori, then he was several meters away. Anyone would mistake that speed for Flash Step.

"You're more aware than anyone that that is impossible."

Mari closely observed CAD activation. The psion flow would have been obvious to her had he actually done such a thing.

"But..."

"That wasn't magic, that was physical technique."

"I can testify to that as well. Oniisama was mentored by Kokonoe Yakumo-sensei."

Mari held her breath. For someone as versed in combat as she, the name was quite familiar.

Mayumi recovered from her astonishment. "Was that attack also Ninjutsu? I thought I saw the release of psion wave motions."

Generally speaking, inquiring about a magician's unreleased abilities, or even to ask how the ability works, was against the rules. But, for Mayumi, a psion bullet user, for Tatsuya to use Psions that had no physical manifestation... it was hard to resist.

"You're correct. The attack was based on Psion wave motions. The foundation of that Psion motion wave came from oscillation magic."

"I still don't understand how you knocked out Hanzou."

"Causing him to faint was enough."

"Faint? How did that happen?"

"For Magicians, Psions have discernable types, like light (color, brightness, etc.) and sound. This is mandatory for magic use, but it often causes magicians unexpectedly exposed to Psion waves to feel as if their bodies are swaying. It's very similar to hypnotic suggestion— if the mind thinks it is so, the body will follow. I used this illusion of swaying motions to cause an extreme feeling of seasickness."

"I can't believe it... To be able to disable a magician through Psion surge alone, and to cause such a strong effect, exactly how..."

Suzune was the one to answer Mayumi, "Compound waves."

"Rin-chan?" As if that helped explain things.

"He created three consecutive vibrations, with the intersection at Hattori-kun'. Such precision."

"Quite the explanation, Suzune." She deserved considerable credit for comprehension of the mechanics.

Suzune asked, "Speaking of , how were you able to invoke vibration magic three times one after the other? If your technical speed is so high, how come your technical score is this low?" Tatsuya could only force a small smile.

"Tatsuya-kun, is that the 'Silver Horn' CAD?" Azusa interrupted.

"Silver Horn? As in from Taurus Silver?" Mayumi said.

"That's him! The miraculous CAD engineer of Four Leaves Technology! Everything about him is a mystery!"

"Silver Horn is the name of the Customizable Specialized CAD developed by Taurus Silver! It has the best…" Azusa recited the stats, heaving at the limited edition CAD.

"A-chan, calm down a little."

"But isn't that strange? No matter how capable, Loop Cast still can't..." Mayumi said.

Suzune nodded, "That is strange. Loop Cast is essentially a copying mechanism in the CAD so that the invokation doesn't have to be restarted every time you repeat the same type of magic. It would be impossible to achieve compounding... I mean, technically there is a way. If target, strength, time of duration are all variables... Don't tell me you managed to calculate all that?"

Under her gaze, Tatsuya shrugged, "It doesn't matter. None of the subjects are scored."

"...The evaluation only includes invocation speed, the scale of the magic sequence, and rewriting ability… I see now..." With a groan, Hattori sat up.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Hattori hurriedly got to his feet.

"I see."

"I only regained movement now!" he flushed scarlet "But, even if I was still hazy, I could still hear the words..."

Tatsuya pretended not to see Azusa, who stared at the object in his hands. Tatsuya also ignored his sister's gaze, which suggested she wanted to help. Miyuki wasn't very adept with machines. Not to mention Tatsuya's CAD was customized to the point that a normal high school student wouldn't be able to handle it.

He replaced the storage device and reset the safety as someone approached him from behind.

"Shiba-san."

"Yes." Miyuki replied, displeased.

"Earlier, I made a rude comment concerning your favoritism. I was the one whose judgment was clouded. Please forgive me," Hattori said.

"I also spoke too arrogantly. I apologize."

Tatsuya pursed his lips and locked the CAD case. Hattori met his gaze, then turned away. With a quick pat to Miyuki's shoulder, Tatsuya continued to rest his hand on her waist.

Finally, Mayumi said, "Let's head back to the Student Council Room!"

* * *

After their return, Mari immediately grabbed Tatsuya's wrist. He suppressed the urge to throw her aside.

"Let's head to the Public Moral Committee HQ!" Mari dragged him away by the arm.

Hattori had yet to raise his head since Tatsuya's entrance. For this, Tatsuya was thankful.

After much difficulty, Tatsuya was able to free his wrist from Mari's grasp. In the room's farthest corner, where there should be a fire escape, laid a staircase to HQ.

Mari pointed to the chairs next to the table, "It's a little bit of a mess. You can rest there for a second." Books, portable terminals, and even CADs covered the table.

Tatsuya cleared a space.

"HQ is like a bachelor pad. Even though I tell them to pick up after themselves time and time again, they still don't listen..."

The committee consisted of nine people, but the provided room could accommodate many more. It was a wonder they had managed to collect so much junk to fill the space.

"Would it be okay if I tidied up a bit?"

"What..." At Tatsuya's sudden proposal, Mari raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"As someone aiming to be a magic artificer, I can't stand it when I see CADs scattered around like this. I have the same stance towards abandoned or disabled terminals."

"Aiming to be a magic artificer? Even with that level of anti-personnel combat capability?"

"No matter how hard I try, my abilities may get me a C-Rank License at best," he countered.

Mari was too astonished to find words of rebuttal.

"...So, it's okay if I clean up?"

"Ah? Hm, I'll help too. We can talk while we work." Mari stood, naturally the type to look after other people.

While both of them worked at similar speeds, the pile in front of Mari did not decrease in size, and the surface of the table remained hidden. Tatsuya gave it a glance and let out a small sigh.

Mari stopped her hands in surrender. "Sorry, I'm really bad at this."

She might possibly bear the biggest responsibility for the state of the room.

"Speaking of which, you're quite familiar with those." At her prompting, he continued, "The book categories. I didn't expect you to sort them by subject."

Mari sat down on the table in the open area that Tatsuya cleared away, looking at the disorganized pile of books. Her dress brushed against his wrist. The cloth covered the thigh area, but the outline left nothing to imagination, rendering that position a terrible distraction. He pretended not to notice.

He dug out the bookcase from the pile of books, and placed them properly on the shelves. Paper-based books were rarities, magical texts in particular.

"In terms of why we scouted you — It was to discipline users of improper magic and improve opinions of Course 2 students.

"I remember, but I think this tactic may cause considerable backlash... May I take a look at this book?" After sorting the books, the terminals still needed work. Tatsuya restored the terminal to working order, cut the power, shifted the terminal to storage mode, and gathered the parts in one area.

"Why do you think that way?"

"If an underclassman were apprehended by someone of equal standing, this would lead to negative reactions."

He left the seat, and began searching the cabinets by the wall. After placing the terminal within an empty cabinet, he heard, "That's true" coming from behind him.

"But at the same time, 1st Year students would welcome this change. Haven't your fellow students talked about this?"

"Yes...If a Course 2 student took over, the negative reaction would outnumber the welcoming." After locating the target, Tatsuya straightened himself, rotating his shoulders before taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves.

"Resentment is inevitable. But new Course 1 students, might not have been exposed long enough to be prejudiced, right?"

"Who knows?"

"Just yesterday I ran into the 'I don't acknowledge you' declaration."

"Was that person Morisaki?"

"...You know him too?"

"The teachers recommended him to join the committee."

His hand faltered.

"So even you can be surprised."

"Of course."

"Because of yesterday, there are grounds for withdrawing the recommendation, but yesterday's event had nothing to do with you."

"I was involved as well."

"Well then, if we were able to recruit you, it would be much harder to reject him."

"Why not take neither of us?"

"Do you dislike it?"

Upon receiving such a direct question, Tatsuya stopped the work of his hands.

Mari was sitting on the table looking downwards at Tatsuya's face, smiling. Her slender and delicate gaze seemed to pierce right through him.

"...To tell the truth, I find it very troublesome, but I don't plan on backing out at this point."

Mari's face once more revealed her delighted smirk.

"Senpai is the type of person who hates trouble..." said Tatsuya.

"And you're the type to cut corners."

Tatsuya could admit she won that round.

* * *

"...This is the committee headquarters, right?" Said Mayumi after descending the stairs.

Mari faked a laugh. "What a hurtful thing to say. It wasn't that bad..."

"As a woman, you should pay more attention to this." Mayumi narrowed her eyes.

Mari scoffed.

Upon seeing Tatsuya busily examining a terminal's internal condition after removing the protective cover, Mayumi nodded in understanding.

"So he's been put to good use already."

Mari replied with an undecipherable sound.

Tatsuya turned around, "Chief, the inspections are complete. There shouldn't be any more problems."

"Good work."

"Eh... So you address Mari as Chief— guess that means we've successfully recruited you."

"I never had the right to refuse in the first place..." Tatsuya deadpanned.

Mayumi placed a hand on her hip, gazing at him and rearing up to unleash her wrath.

"Tatsuya-kun, how rude."

He did not vocalize his response for fear of worsening the situation.

"President, I'd like to clarify something."

"Hm?"

"We met for the first time just before the enrollment ceremony, right?"

Mayumi's eyes widened upon hearing them, however, they quickly reverted to their normal size and narrowed to a wicked expression.

Tatsuya realized his mistake.

"The day of the enrollment ceremony—our fateful reunion!"

"No, wait..."

"A long time ago we might have met once, then thrust apart by cruel fate, only to be united by destiny once more!"

There was something terribly wrong with her.

"...Unfortunately, that was our first meeting."

"...I thought so too."

* * *

Mayumi had come to visit to inform them that the student council room was closing early. She was only supposed to check on Tatsuya in passing, but that had become her primary objective before long.

"Then, I'm going ahead." Mayumi waved and walked towards the council Room.

Tomorrow marked the first day for new club member competition, so the committee's activities would increase as well.

The conversation ended at this point. Several of the items needed to be shut down, but they would still automatically enter sleep mode. The only thing left was to set safety protocols, but such was interrupted by the entrance of two male students.

"Hi."

"Good morning!"

"Oi, Nee-san, can we come in?"

The subject in question was not overly tall, but possessed a sturdy build, with short cropped hair. Tatsuya glanced at Mari, who was a little embarrassed.

"Chief, today's patrol is done! No arrests!" Even with an average speech pattern, it still retained an imposing air. Still, his appearance was bland in comparison to his partner's.

"...You're telling me that Nee-san cleaned this room?" At the abrupt changes in the activity room, the initial young man approached Tatsuya with unconcealed surprise.

As the boy passed in front of Mari, she stood, looked towards him— "A-ya!"

The boy crouched down and covered his head. Mari held a rolled up notebook. When did she pull that out?.

"Don't call me Nee-san! How many times do I have to tell you for you to remember?! Koutarou, is your brain a decoration?!" Mari roared her displeasure.

"Please don't hit me on the head, Nee... No, Chief. Speaking of which, who's this? The rookie?"

In front of the rigid Koutarou, Mari lowered her shoulders and sighed. "...Yeah. 1st Year Class E Shiba Tatsuya. Recommended by the Student Council."

"Eh... He's a Course 2 Student?" Koutarou said upon inspection of Tatsuya's coat, while checking out Tatsuya's build.

"The two of you should be careful. He just thrashed Hattori."

The two boys' expressions became grave.

"...This guy, took out Hattori?"

"Yes, in a formal duel."

"What! The undefeated Hattori, losing to a newcomer."

"No need to shout, Sawaki." Tatsuya was not pleased at the stares, but these were not only upperclassmen,- they were his seniors in the Public Moral Committee. Bear with it for a little longer.

"He's got potential, Chief."

"Surprised?"

The question was vague, but it didn't seem like Mari expected an answer anyways.

"Many students are satisfied with the label of 'bloom' or 'weed' determining one's value. I hate that, so I am please with the outcome of today's match. While I can't say that there's no sense of superiority here, we can all objectively evaluate another person's skills. Unfortunately, the three students recommended by the teachers are quite prejudiced, but there's nothing we can do about it. I think this place would suit you."

"3rd Year, Tatsumi Koutarou. Welcome aboard, Shiba. If you got the skills, you're fine in my book."

"2nd Year, Sawaki Midori. Welcome, Tatsuya-kun." Koutarou and Sawaki both reached out a hand.

There wasn't a hint of insult in their expressions. Their earlier evaluation was for ability, and course enrollment made no difference. He had to admit he was somewhat surprised.

He returned their greeting and shook Koutarou's hand, yet his grip did not loosen. They made eye contact.

"Juumonji is from the Club Management Group. You can refer to him as Group Leader Juumonji."

"I'm up next. Please refer to me by my family name Sawaki."

Upon feeling pressure on his hand, Tatsuya's consciousness was pulled back to reality. His grip strength had increased to the point of near pain, Tatsuya was surprised to find. This school had excellent students.

"Don't call me by my first name." That appeared to be the warning.

Tatsuya was not in the habit of referring to upperclassmen by first name anyways, but he figured he should respond.

"I'll remember that." Sawaki released his hand.

Koutarou's surprise surpassed Sawaki's own.

"Ho, that's quite impressive. Sawaki's grip strength hard for even me to handle."

"...That hardly qualifies as normal physical abilities." Tatsuya pretended not to know, giving a light response. He was going to get along quite well with these two.


	5. Volume 1 (Enrollment) - Chapter 4

When compared to traditional equipment, such as talismans, CADs possessed superior invocation speed, refinement, complexity, and capacity to execute large scale magic. They were the definitive auxiliary equipment of the modern age.

That being said, they weren't universally superior.

Due to the precise nature of CADs, maintenance required additional effort.

This was especially the case when dealing with the compatibility between the user's psion wave motions and the Receive-Release System. CAD utilized the psions released by Magicians as raw materials that, when directed toward the activation sequence (after passing through the caster) resulted in the final invocation. Still, this is a vast oversimplification of the magical process. CAD maintenance could influence the speed of magic invocation from 50% to 100%.

In other words, psions are particles of thought or consciousness made concrete. Their manifestation is dependent on the caster, as every individual has a unique psion wave motion. If the CAD is not finely tuned to their specific use, the user would likely encounter difficulty managing the exchange of psions.

Besides that, there are many essential points that lead to a custom fit CAD. For this reason, standards for magic artificers charged with CAD maintenance are particularly high.

In addition, the fluctuations of psion wave motions reflect the growth of the physical body and are subsequently affected. These fluctuations could change daily.

Thus, the ideal situation would call for daily maintenance based on the user's physical status, but CAD maintenance requires equipment that is extremely expensive.

Generally, only government-owned businesses and major corporations possess the power and funding for CAD maintenance equipment and trained personnel. The average magician usually turns to using mechanical service stores for check-ups.

First High, being one of the country's premiere schools, naturally possessed special facilities for student use. It was a common sight to see students or faculty undergoing CAD maintenance on Campus.

However, due to special circumstances, Tatsuya's house also contained state of the art CAD maintenance equipment.

After dinner, in the basement turned CAD maintenance room, Tatsuya turned around upon hearing Miyuki speak.

"It's okay, go ahead and come in. It's about time I took a break." That wasn't a complete lie.

"I was hoping you could adjust my CAD..." She was holding a cellphone-shaped CAD.

On her approach, the soft, pleasant smell of soap bombarded his senses. She was wearing a simple, large velvet robe with bunny slippers.

"Are the settings incompatible?"

"Of course not! Onii-sama's adjustments are always perfect."

The last time they did a full maintenance was 3 days ago. Usually, they only did a full maintenance once a week unless there was an urgent reason.

"It's just, that...I actually wanted Onii-sama to help me change a few activation sequences..."

"That's it? It's nothing to worry about. I was getting worried for a bit."

He softly brushed his sister's hair and took the CAD from her hands. Miyuki dipped her head in embarrassment.

"So, what systems do you want to add?"

General CADs were limited to 99 registered Activation Sequences. Even for Miyuki's highly customized CAD, this was a strict limit. The variability of activation sequences were dependent on where the activation sequence combination ended and where the individual's magic calculation area began. Really, there were unlimited combinations.

Generally speaking, variables were set and executed by the magic calculation area, whereas fixed quantities were incorporated into the activation sequence. Miyuki belonged to the minority who registered a wide variety sequences with few fixed quantities and many flexible values.

For fifteen year old Miyuki, who could grasp magical skills far beyond what her age would suggest and had an incredibly varied repertoire of magic, 99 types was far below her ability.

"I'd like to add binding-type activation sequence, and I want to increase the types of anti- personnel combat magics."

"You already have speed magics... do you need to add binding-types?"

Of all the different types of magic, Miyuki specialized in speed-type magics—particularly freezing magic. Seeing as temperature was simply the average speed at which molecules moved, she was capable of reducing a target's temperature to near absolute zero by slowing down their movement.

"Because speed magic is very difficult to work with, and has a very long invocation time, I realized that I'm lacking in magics that use speed as the primary focus to subdue an opponent."

"Hm... But I don't think Miyuki fits that type. Attacking before the opponent is ready and using speed to disrupt the opponent is a legitimate strategy. However, striking with force born of absolute superiority, using zone interference to nullify the incoming magic, then using magic that is both stronger and greater in scale than the opponent's defensive capability..Don't you think the more orthodox style fits you better?"

Zone interference involved using the user's own magic power to nullify opposing magics within the user's immediate surroundings. This occurs when a zone has been saturated with a user's magic, rendering the zone "unable to be changed," thus overriding the opponent's magic attempt to rewrite the surroundings.

Miyukie's zone interference was incredibly powerful, so, even in magical combat, in which whomever seizes the initiative has the advantage, the advantage would be greatly decreased with her as an opponent.

"...I can't do it?"

Tatsuya felt a pang of guilt at her pout.

"No, that's not the case. In student council, against a fellow student, this strategy would be necessary. I understand.I'll readjust the systems of the activation sequence so I do not reduce the current magic."

Now that his sister expressed her request, Tatsuya did not refuse. However, he did not forget his earlier suggestion.

"You're not going to consider getting another CAD?"

"Only you can dual wield two CADs."

"You can too, if you put your mind to it."

Tatsuya forced a smile as he ran his hand over Miyuki's head. It was a guaranteed method for improving his little sister's mood.

The effect was immediate.

Miyuki closed her eyes as she was completely immersed in his gentle massaging and stroking of her head.

"Let's start with a quick examination."

Seeing that Miyuki's pleasant mood had returned, Tatsuya adopted a curt, professional expression.

Reluctantly leaving her brother's touch, Miyuki stepped back and removed her robe.

As she lay on the examination bed, Miyuki was only covered by her white underclothes.

Although they were white in a show of purity, they were covered in a lace that added a layer of sensuality. Tatsuya remained solid, not revealing a single expression. Right now, he was a machine. An observing, analyzing, recording machine wrapped.

* * *

"Good work, it's done."

Hearing Tatsuya's words, Miyuki stood. This type of examination could not be obtained anywhere else.

The maintenance facilities on campus simply involved putting on a pair of headphones and placing your hands on the touchpad for examination. Tatsuya kept his eyes averted to the side while handing the velvet robe back to Miyuki, who gazed glumly at Tatsuya's back.

Her elder brother sat in a chair with a back that reached his upper waist and, as if nothing had happened, he gazed at the terminal.

Perhaps, in his mind, nothing really did happen. Although, to Miyuki, that was far from the case.

If her elder brother could keep his composure, she could too.

"Onii-sama is quite crafty..."

"Miyuki?"

Hearing Miyuki's tender voice, Tatsuya quickly responded —It was very rare to hear Onii-sama use that kind of wavering, harried voice.

Upon hearing that, her heartbeat became erratic and she began to feel an oh so familiar heat.

With the velvet robe draped over her shoulders and flapping open in the front, Miyuki pressed her torso onto Tatsuya's back.

"Miyuki…"

She closed her eyes at his smooth baritone.

"Do you not see me as a woman?"

He hesitated, "I would be in trouble if I did…"

That was true. Her thoughts turned to Saegusa, who seemed awfully friendly with Tatsuya. She wondered if perhaps she was more his type.

"If you'd like, I can pet your hair while we sit on the couch," he reached his hand around to lay on the back of her neck, a warm, comforting pressure.

Her cheeks reddened at the suggestion. Tatsuya took that as approval.

"You go relax while I finish up. I won't be long."

She nodded, releasing him as she approached the exit. Still, she hesitated at the doorway, staring at her older brother, then looking down at her clothing. When he paused in her work, she turned away abruptly and took a set on the couch, but not making sure she was looking to be in good condition when she passed a mirror in the hallway.

True to his word, Tatsuya only took about five minutes before he arrived in the living room. Miyuki was sitting quite gracefully and peace fully on one of the couch cushions. Upon seeing her brother arrive, Miyuki scooched over to suggest that he sit next to her, although he had no intention of sitting elsewhere.

As Tatsuya sat down, Miyuki shuffled onto her knees. Tatsuya, sitting lengthwise along the sectional, allowed her to settle between his legs, her head resting on his chest lazily. Finally, he began to stroker her satiny hair, causing her to purr in delight as she forced herself to hold still. A few times, his nails scratched and massaged her scalp, which made her back arch in pleasure.

Miyuki rolled onto her stomach and lowered slightly, cheek resting on her brother's abs and hands edging toward the edge of his shirt, which had begun to ride up. She grabbed the fabric tightly as she nuzzled his abdomen. At last taking the hint, Tatsuya placed his strong hands on her shoulders, massaging them with only a fraction of her strength. When he reached a particularly rough knot near the base of her neck, he pushed his thumb into her a little harder, causing her to moan at the sensation. Breathing heavily, Miyuki grabbed his hand.

"Too much."

"I apologize," he rubbed the area in forgiveness.

This went on for several minutes, until Miyuki, on the edge of sleep, looked up at her brother and yawned. Moving smoothly and slowly so as not to startle her, Tatsuya gather the girl in his arms. She blinked blearily, but nuzzled into his neck as he began to move.

The pair arrived at her room a moment later, and Tatsuya hesitated before stepping over the threshold. Although the siblings were very close, Tatsuya very rarely entered her private quarters— more often than not, it was her who entered his quarters. The room was tidy, as he would expect from his sister, but he attempted to avoid gazing too deeply on anything to at least allow his sister a modicum of privacy. Pulling back the sheets on her bed, he placed her gently on the soft surface.

Her arms remained locked around his neck, so he reached to undo the hold. Miyuki, though, had other plans. She tugged on Tatsuya, urging him to join her. He resisted. At last, she relented, although not without one last demand.

"A goodnight kiss, Onii-sama."

Knowing just how stubborn his little sister could be, Tatsuya leaned forward, placing a chaste kiss upon her cheek.

She smiled, "I love you."

He nodded, exiting rather quickly and shutting the door behind him.

Were Tatsuya any other boy, he would have bitten his lip as he pondered what happened, but Tatsuya was not any other boy. Instead, he took the steps downstairs, pushed the events out of his mind, and continued working.

* * *

She awoke at the normal time, her sleep addled brain unusually content. Still, she sighed, knowing her brother had probably left for morning training.

This happened every day. He always went to sleep later than she did, but always woke up earlier.

Like yesterday, it was very rare for her to get up first. In the past, she had been worried that he would ruining his body with the lack of sleep. Now, she understood such worries were useless.

Everyone called her a genius, but they understood nothing at all. They praised special individuals, people that were different from themselves, but the truth was the true genius was her elder brother.

He was on a different plane of existence, one beyond comprehension. Few could understand the true talent he held, towering over mere mortals.

The man who by all rights would be their father crumbled in terror at that face. He belittled and abused his own son, and though she knew, she pretended she didn't. For whose sake, she didn't know.

Father — that man still sought to belittle her elder brother's talent, to give him a false sense of defeatism, seeking to clip the wings of his spirit and ambition. And yet, he found himself crushed by the fact that his son's talent far exceeded his own. When Tatsuya obtained the last resource he needed to barter his freedom, Father was forced to let go.

The only thing that man could do now was adopt a phony title and collect hollow praises from the masses.

She shook the thoughts off. Must be a lack of sleep.

But deep down, she knew that wasn't the case.

Once separated from her brother, a vague sense of unrest settled over her. Her chest throbbed, and sleep remained elusive. She knew it was love, but she also knew that the way in which she loved him… could never be accepted.

Although she had only known of their relation for three years, when she was saved by Tatsuya, she felt a deep connection with him, and had worked hard to be a good sister. Miyuki dreamed of one day being able to help him as he did her. Still, she knew this justification would not hold for long.

Even though she embodied the shackles that bound him, she one day wished to be the key to his liberation.

First things first — to prepare breakfast

Onii-sama would no doubt return on an empty stomach. This was one thing she could do. She could definitely cook a delicious meal.

* * *

 **All rights go to the original creator.**

 **Sorry for the short chapter**


	6. Volume 1 (Enrollment) - Chapter 5

**Kind of a subpar chapter but oh well :(**

 **I don't own any of the characters, plot, etc.**

 **All rights go to the original owners.**

* * *

Magical high schools, at their core, were no different from normal schools. But some things were specific to magical high schools.

The most obvious example would be the "Nine Schools Competition," in which all nine magical schools gather and compete in magical games. Some schools put immense emphasis on training for the event, and a club that performs well in this competition reaps benefits in the form of a better budget as well as recognition and special treatment.

Thus, each club has the important task of recruiting talented students to participate as a representative of their organization. In this particular recruitment season, clubs show no mercy in this battle for new students.

"...And that's why there is so much trouble every year."

In the Student Council Room

"Recruitment often is so serious it affects classes. It doesn't help that clubs only have one week," Mari explained

Nestled close to Tatsuya, Miyuki looked more at home than ever.

"The clubs bring out the tents all at once—It's like a festival. There are even secret lists that name all the students who scored high grades on the entrance exams, and I'm sure those people will be heavily targeted. Obviously, there are rules in place that penalize the clubs and its members if they break them, but it's not uncommon to see fist fights or even magic shooting about."

"I thought carrying a CAD was prohibited?" Tatsuya asked, surprised.

While magic is possible without a CAD, doing something like "shooting about" magic definitely required one.

"The school gives them permission for 'demonstrations.' There is a screening in place before they allow this, but it's more or less a free pass. So, this place becomes a giant chaos zone," Mari answered.

That...was unusual.

Mayumi piped in, "It's because the school wants the clubs to score well in the Nine Schools Competition. I'm sure the school wouldn't mind a few rules being broken as long as they raise the chances of recruiting more students."

"Well, that's that. Starting today, the disciplinary committee is going all out. Whew, I'm glad we were able to fill all our empty seats," Mari sent a sarcastic look beside her.

"I'm glad you were able to find someone so talented, Mari." She ignored the look with a smile.

"Well, the clubs are targeting the students with the highest grades, meaning the First Course students correct? I don't think I would be of any use in that case."

Only Course 2 students should police Course 2 students. He was using Mari's argument from yesterday against her.

"Who cares about that. I'm counting on you."

Tatsuya sighed, quietly accepting her words.

Sitting beside him, Miyuki asked, "President, are we going to join in the patrol as well?"

Miyuki referred to "we" as in the Student Council members. Tatsuya smiled, seeing how his beloved sister was able to fit in even though she could be difficult around people.

"I will be assigning A-chan as support. Hanzo-kun and I have to standby in HQ, so you and Rin-chan will have to stay here."

"Understood."

Tatsuya wondered aloud, "Nakajou-senpai is on support?"

It was a subtle indication that he didn't believe Azusa to be completely reliable.

"Appearances can be deceiving, Tatsuya," she tutted.

"I do, but..."

"Well, the timidity CAN be a little bad at times but don't worry. A-chan's magic will come in handy in these situations." She smirked, "You see, in times like this, her magic — Azusayumi — can really be effective."

Modern magic is a shared technology. Of course, some private magics are not registered in a database.

"Azusayumi? I don't believe there is an official name such as that. Is it external systematic magic?"

Most unregistered magic was usually that.

"...Don't tell me you memorized every single inherent name."

He didn't answer.

"A-chan's 'Azusayumi' allows her to put people into a trance-like state and guide them however she wants."

Informational manipulative external systematic magic, then. It controls both your thoughts and feelings.

"Azusayumi doesn't rob you of your consciousness, so it doesn't make the opponent completely helpless. Rather, it affects large groups of people, so it's perfect to calm down a wild crowd.

"...Aren't there first-class restrictions tied to that kind of magic though?"

Of all magics, mental interference magics had the strictest regulations. If this magic were to become known to the government or the public...

Mayumi chuckled, "There's nothing to worry about,"

" Nakajou was granted permission to use her external systematic magic only on school grounds. Well, we did use a backdoor method, but..." Mari said.

"I see."

* * *

As Tatsuya headed towards HQ after class, a high pitched voice called after him. When he turned, a skinny girl with short cut hair greeted him.

"I'm surprised, Erika. Are you by yourself?"

"Is it that surprising that I'm alone? Anyway, Tatsuya-kun, what are you gonna do about clubs? Mizuki said she was going to join Art Club. She invited me to join, but I'm not exactly the artistic type, so I'm just walking around to see if there's anything fun to do."

"Didn't Leo also say that he chose something?"

"The mountain club, right? Suits him."

He agreed.

"The Mountain club at our school focuses more on survival than climbing. Seriously, it's like the club's made for him.

"Hey, Tatsuya, if you haven't joined a club yet, do you wanna look around with me?"

He didn't. But he couldn't just say that to her face, could he?

"To tell you the truth, it seems like the disciplinary committee's already using me as they please. It's possible for me to walk around with you, but I have to do it as a patrol. If that's okay with you then sure."

"Ah, that's fine."

Erika seemed to think hard before letting out a shrug like she was reluctant to go along with it, but the smile on her face gave her away.

* * *

"Why are you here?!"

That was how the reunion started.

"Aren't you being a bit rude?" Tatsuya sighed, his voice tired, but this only sparked more agitation.

"Shut up, newbie."

A quick roar from Mari made Morisaki stand upright and shut his mouth.

"This is an official meeting for the disciplinary members, so every person here is a member. At least get that through your head before shouting like that."

"I apologize!"

How pitiful; Morisaki's face displayed his apprehension. He had only been here two days, and he was still feeling the heat from the president's scolding.

"Oh well, take a seat."

Mari seemed nervous, and she did not seem like the type to enjoy oppressing the weak. Morisaki sat in the chair facing Tatsuya, unable to move due to their status as the newest members. Being an underling meant they had to sit at the edge of the table, glaring at each other.

"Everyone here?"

After 9 people entered the room, Mari stood.

"Okay, listen up. For the Disciplinary Committee, this week will be the first big hurdle we have to overcome. Last year, some of you cause a mild uproar while others were forced to handle damage control. Please be ready this year. I repeat, disciplinary members will not be the ones causing trouble this year."

Multiple members sat and shrugged. Tatsuya, swore to himself to be extra careful, knowing his tendency to get into some kind of trouble.

"We were able to find replacements to cover those who graduated. I'll introduce you. Stand up."

Morisaki was visibly nervous, yet enthusiastic, and Tatsuya was calm as always.

"Morisaki Shun from 1A and Shiba Tatsuya from 1E. Make sure to incorporate these two into patrols from now on."

There were murmurs in the room after hearing Tatsuya's class number. But since it was the headquarters where they reprimanded any student using the offensive word, he didn't hear anybody using the word "Weed".

"Who will he be paired with?" This was from a 2nd year named Okada.

"As I explained before, during recruitment week, everybody will patrol the grounds on their own accord. The newcomers are no exception."

"Are they even useful?"

Formally, that question was directed at both Tatsuya and Morisaki, but his focus on Tatsuya's uniform was telling of the real issue.

At this point, Mari was already fed up.

"Don't worry, they're useful. I've seen Shiba's skills with my own eyes and Morisaki is also pretty competent with his device manipulation. He just had bad luck with his opponent. If you're still anxious, then why don't you pair up with Morisaki?"

Okada let out a sarcastic "It's fine."

"Anybody else want to say anything?"

Tatsuya was surprised at Mari's belligerent composure, but no one else paid much attention to it. There seemed to be some deep-rooted conflicts within the committee, but it seemed the leader was the source of many.

"We will now conclude this meeting. The patrols will go according to plan. Any objections?"

A few seemed like they wanted to say something, but none did.

"Very well. Don't forget your recorders. I will explain things to Shiba and Morisaki. Everyone else, mobilize!"

Everyone stood upright, put their heels together, and used their right fist to hit their left chest. The traditional committee salute. There were other rules like saying "Good morning", no matter the time, and such.

The other six members left the room, Morisaki glaring whilst doing so.

"First, I'll give you guys these."

Mari held out two armbands and small video recorders.

"Put the recorder in your chest pocket. It's customized where the lens would pop right out of the pocket. All you have to do is push the recording button on the right."

When they put the recorders in their pockets as told, the lens stuck out, ready to record.

"Be sure to keep that recorder on you at all times. When you see someone violating rules, be sure to press the switch. You don't really have to worry about getting a good picture because testimony from a disciplinary member is considered adequate evidence. Just think of it as a precautionary measure."

As she waited for the two to reply, Mari ordered them to bring out their mobile terminals.

"I'm going to send you the communication frequencies now... confirm that you received it."

They did as she said.

"Always report your findings using this frequency. We also give instructions through this frequency. Lastly, CADs. Disciplinary members are permitted to carry their CADs and you don't have to wait for permission from someone to use them. But, if we find any unauthorized usage, you will be kicked out of the committee and receive a penalty more severe than the normal students. Last year, we had a student expelled because of that, so be careful."

"Question."

"Go ahead."

"May I use the CADs that I found in the Committee room?"

Tatsuya's question caught her off-guard so it took a moment for an answer to come.

"...I don't mind, but why? Those are pretty old models."

Mari figured, by watching Tatsuya during his match yesterday and such, that he was skilled with handling and maintaining CADs. Not to mention that Azusa was enthusiastically talking about the high spec CAD that he used.

And here he was asking to use an older model. Mari couldn't hide her curiosity.

"They may be older models, but those CADs are high-class items mainly used by professionals."

He gave a bitter smile.

"...Is that right?"

"Yes, that series isn't popular because it's such a hassle to maintain, but you are still able to customize it, and the switch while using the NCT is very sensitive. So, although limited, it has passionate support from enthusiasts. The person who bought these was probably a fan of the series. The battery life is a little limited, but it's been overclocked to boost processing power. If you sell these, you can get a hefty sum from those enthusiasts."

"...And we've been treating those things as trash all this time. I see, now I know why you were so particular about cleaning up the place."

"I'm sure if you brought Nakajou-senpai over she would have explained the series..."

"Nakajou is too afraid to even step foot in this room."

"Oh... I see."

The two let out nervous laughs.

Mari, noticing how confused Morisaki was, coughed, "In that case, go ahead. It's collecting dust in here anyway."

"Understood. In that case, I'll borrow two."

"Two? You sure are interesting."

Tatsuya took the two that he had secretly customized for himself and attached them to both of his arms. Seeing that, Mari let out a smile, and Morisaki twisted his lips sarcastically.

* * *

"Hey!"

He could tell by Morisaki's voice that he had nothing friendly to say. Although Tatsuya considered ignoring him, he turned around anyway.

"What?" A voice laced with resentment and an arrogant response. Definitely not a friendly atmosphere.

"You seem to be good at bluffing. Is that how you got on the president's good side?"

"Are you jealous?"

"Wha..."

If he got so angry over something so small, why make any sarcastic remarks in the first place? At the same time, he felt a little jealous of Morisaki's straightforward attitude.

"...Either way, you really crossed the line this time. There's no way you Course 2 guys can use multiple CADs at once."

Morisaki didn't notice Tatsuya's bored stares and continued with his lecturing.

"If you attach CADs on both your arms, then the Psion interference would make both of them unusable. You didn't even know that did you? All you were thinking about was looking cool. Since you can't use any decent spells, I guess you have to do these sneaky little things to get by just so you don't look stupid."

"Is that supposed to be advice? You seem pretty confident, Morisaki."

"Ha! I'm different from you people. I was caught off guard the other day, but that won't happen next time. I'll show you the difference in our levels."

How naïve of him to assume that there would always be a "next time"...

* * *

Erika was not where she said she would be. Tatsuya sighed. She was relying completely on him to seek her out. He zoomed in on her location, detailed on his mobile terminal, and headed in her direction.

Tents covered one school ground to another; it almost made this place look like a fair with street vendors.

"Seems like there's a festival going on here..." Erika said to herself.

She spent much of her time alone in her youth. It wasn't like she hated people, she just...got tired of relationships. She couldn't stand being with someone 24 hours a day. She enjoyed wandering, free from any promises."

That was her motto.

...Well, it WAS, but lately, things were changing.

10 minutes after the promised time, Tatuys called out Erika's name.

He was quicker than she expected.

"...Tatsuya, do people ever say you have a bad personality?"

"No, that's unthinkable. They have said that I am a bad person though."

"That's the same thing! Wait, that's even worse!"

"Oh wait, that's wrong. Not a bad person but an evil person."

She sputtered.

"I was even called a demon by some people."

"Ok, I've had enough!"

As Erika was panting, Tatsuya started acting like a pondering philosopher.

"You seem tired. Are you okay?"

Erika drooped her head from fatigue, "You know, I might just be able to agree with those people."

* * *

It took a little effort to recover her mood, but Tatsuya was able to continue his patrol before catching the attention of those around them.

It was only 5 minutes into their patrol and already Tatsuya wanted to go home.

He had underestimated things. Even though he heard that things were a bit rowdy, he still thought it would be within the bounds of a normal high school club recruitment fair. It was nowhere near that.

He could see why they would need people to police the place, but even 10 people wouldn't be enough.

The mass of tents covering the grounds were filled with people. Across the wall of people, Erika let out a scream upon her capture.

Of course she would be targeted. Tatsuya was a bit plain, not to mention he was a Weed, but Erika was quite eye-catching, so they took no notice to her being a Course 2 student.

Tatsuya couldn't see what was going on through the line of people (he guessed they were only grabbing her arm). Tatsuya had confidence in her abilities, but even so… this was a bit too far.

"Hey, wait, where are you touching me? Stop...!"

It looked like playtime was over.

Tatsuya engaged the CAD on his left arm. When the magic formulated, he kicked the ground and made it shake slightly. Physically, the vibrations he made from the shock weren't visible, but he used magic to manipulate the vibrations he made and directed them towards the crowd.

The vibrations weren't enough to knock someone unconscious, but they did make everyone lose their sense of balance.

As he pushed forward everyone touched by Tatsuya fell over. After pushing a number of people over, both boys and girls, he was able to get to the center and break through the upperclassmen.

Meeting Erika's gaze, he said, "Run."

After slipping through the crowd like the magician he was, Tatsuya was able to run to a remote location between the buildings. After running for several minutes, he finally realized the mess they were in. Her hair was messed up, her new uniform wrinkled, her top undone, and her necktie in hand. She frantically tried to fix herself.

"Don't look!"

When she got back up to yell at him, his face was already turned the other direction.

"...Did you see?"

Tatsuya didn't say anything. He should say that he didn't — that would be the smart thing to do.

"Did. You. See?!"

He nearly told her, but after seeing her red, streaky face and puffy eyes, he couldn't say anything. Erika glared at Tatsuya.

"...Idiot!"

She didn't use her hands but instead kicked him in the shin. After that, she turned and walked away, Tatsuya silently following.

That kick most likely hurt her more than it did him. He didn't say anything.

All he could do was pretend not to notice the unnatural way she walked.

* * *

The two made their way into the 2nd gymnasium, also known as the "Arena", where the Kendo club was performing.

"Isn't it common to have a Kendo club at a school?"

"...That's unexpected."

He turned to look at Erika.

"I didn't know there was something you didn't know. Anybody who's had martial arts training knows about this."

He shrugged.

"Anyway, Kendo, right? If you're aiming to become a Magician, Kendo isn't something you do at a high school level. Magicians typically use magical sword skills based on "Kenjutsu," not "Kendo." You probably take Kendo up to elementary school to get the fundamentals of Kenjutsu, but during middle school, those who want to become Magicians go to Kenjutsu instead."

"Is that right... I thought Kendo and Kenjutsu were the same thing."

"Hey Tatsuya, you're assuming that all martial arts are combined with magic right? Not only martial arts but fighting spirits and things like that. You assume that magic is used to supplement the body when it moves around right?"

"Isn't it obvious? Muscle isn't the only thing that makes the body move."

From Tatsuya's point of view, what Erika said was obvious to him, but Erika only seemed to nod with some kind of understanding.

"Well, for Tatsuya it may be obvious. But in normal competitions, that's not the case."

"I see."

"Putting that aside, why don't we watch the performance?"

The practice rounds were in full force. What caught everyone's eyes especially was the performance of a female student.

She wasn't large or anything; she was about the same size as Erika, but she was fighting on par with a man twice her size. She was quite graceful, parrying her opponent's attacks and twirling around free of care. It had a certain beauty to it. The entire audience was entranced... all except for one.

He heard a snort behind him.

"Doesn't seem like you were very into that."

There was a slight pause before she answered.

"...It's so boring, though. She's fighting an opponent of a much lower skill level, so she's able to show off. It just seems so rehearsed.

"Well, you are right, but...It's to promote their club remember?

Erika looked away, irritated.

Just as they were about to exit, they heard a commotion.

The first one to dart off towards the commotion was Erika, while she grabbed Tatsuya's sleeve.

As the two pushed past the crowd (the only reason no one really got angry was that Erika smiled at them as she pushed by), they saw a swordsman and a swordswoman confronting each other.

The girl was the same girl from the practice round. Her chest plate was still on, but her helmet was nowhere to be seen.

The male was about the same size as Tatsuya, but he seemed to have a spring- loaded body. He had a shinai in his hand but no armor. He was going to ask people around him what was going on, but it didn't seem like he needed to.

"The Kenjutsu club is scheduled to perform an hour later, Kirihara! Why can't you wait?!"

"Wow, how can you say that Mibu? I was just trying to help you guys advertise the club!"

"By forcing him to have a practice round with you?! I can't believe you! If the Disciplinary Committee finds out that you used violence on an upperclassman, you're not the only one who's going to be in trouble!"

"I just used my shinai to hit his helmet. If that guy's part of the Kendo club, he shouldn't be going unconscious over something like this. Besides, he started it."

"Because you provoked him!"

It wasn't much use to dispute over this whilst pointing their weapons at each other, but since it made clear what was going on, it was convenient for him.

"Seems like fun."

He side-eyed Erika but said nothing.

"The girl is Mibu Sayaka. A few years ago, she placed second in the National Middle School Kendo Tournament. She was called the Beautiful Swordswoman for awhile."

"...But she placed second, right?"

"Well... the champion's looks were... you know."

"I see."

That's the media for you.

"The guy, Kirihara Takeaki, placed first in the Kanto Middle School Kenjutsu Tournament the same year. A real champion."

"He didn't participate in the Nationals?"

"Nationals only start in high school. There are too few younger students to start a new division."

Well, that's right, nodded Tatsuya in agreement.

Kenjutsu combines sword techniques with magic, so the basic prerequisite is that the athlete is able to use magic. Only 1 in 1000 middle-schoolers are able to use it in a practical setting. Even in adulthood, only 1 in 10 are able to maintain that level of magic.

"Oh, looks like it's starting."

Tatsuya was able to feel the atmosphere reach its breaking point, so, as a precaution, he took out his armband and attached it to his left arm. The student next to him was surprised but glared at him for reasons he needn't specify.

The female swordswoman was hesitant to attack with no armor, but it wasn't like she had a choice.

It seemed like Kirihara was going to make the first move.

"Don't worry Mibu, it's only a demonstration for the Kendo club. I won't use any magic on you."

"Do you think you can beat me with technique alone? Kirihara, you rely heavily on magic for your Kenjutsu, but I rely on nothing but technique for Kendo."

"You talk pretty big, Mibu. I'll show you."

Kirihara lunged forward and swung his shinai towards her head. The sounds of shinais beating each other echoed in the room, followed by screams.

"Impressive. The female Kendo students are at a pretty high level. If this is how good the second place is, how strong was the champion?" Tatsuya let out a breath of admiration.

"I can't believe how much she's improved in only 2 years..."

Kirihara lets out a roar while lunging forward.

"Is it a draw?"

"No, it's not."

Kirihara's shinai skimmed Sayaka's left arm while Sayaka's shinai was stuck in his right shoulder. Kirihara used his left hand to push away her shinai and dove back.

"He lost because he tried to change his aim in the middle of the attack."

"I see, so that's why he hesitates. It was the perfect timing to make it a draw... but I guess he couldn't cut off his feelings."

At this point, everyone had to admit the match was over. Kendo members sighed in relief, and Kenjutsu members clenched their teeth in anger.

"If this were a real fight, this would have been a mortal wound. The attack didn't even reach my bones. Admit your loss."

He let out a hollow laugh.

"A real fight, you say? If this was a real fight, you wouldn't even be able to cut me. Mibu, do you really want to have a real fight? Then... I'll show you what a 'real fight' is!"

As Kirihara activated his CAD using his right hand, screams arose from the crowd of spectators.

Kirihara jumped forward and swung his shinai down. He was fast, yes, but he was clearly not using his full strength. Regardless, Sayaka jumped back.

The attack didn't even hit; it grazed her. But her chestplate was cut open, just by getting grazed by a shinai.

The thing that increased its cutting power is a close combat Vibration Magic, "Sonic Blade".

"How's that, Mibu?! This is a 'real' fight!"

As he was about to make another swing towards Sayaka, Tatsuya jumped in front of him.

Before he jumped in, Tatsuya activated his CADs on both arms (using his Psion as "hands" to press the switches) and transferred his Psion within them. He used those CAD to shoot out an intricate web of Psion waves, a type of Non-Systematic magic that he used.

By now, there were many spectators who held their mouths because a symptom similar to motion sickness spread across the crowd. Kirihara's shinai and Tatsuya's arm intersected, but there weren't any sounds of the shinai hitting meat.

The sound that came out was the sound of a body falling to the floor. After the spectators recovered from the sound and sickness, they were able to finally see what was going on. And what they saw was Kirihara on the ground while Tatsuya was keeping him there, by holding his left wrist and using his knee to push down on his shoulder.

* * *

Within the gymnasium/arena, whispers of hostility broke the silence.

"Who's that?"

"I've never seen him before."

"Is he new?"

"Look, he's a Weed."

"What the hell is a Weed doing here?"

"But his armband—"

"Wait, I heard that someone from Course 2 made it into the Disciplinary Committee."

This was met with cries of shock.

The whispers originated from the Kenjutsu club and spread from there. Within the crowded circle, half stared at Tatsuya with hostility, while others gazed on, breaths held.

Tatsuya coolly (while holding Kirihara down) took out his communication device. Sure looked like he was used to this.

"This is Tatsuya in the 2nd gymnasium. I have apprehended a student. He seems to be injured so please bring a stretcher just in case."

His voice, while of a reasonable volume, carried in the otherwise silent arena.

A member of the Kenjutsu club stepped forward, shouting, "Hey, what are you doing?!"

What a meaningless question.

"I am apprehending Kirihara-senpai because of improper use of magic."

"Hey, you! Stop looking down at me you damn Weed!" He lunged.

Tatsuya quickly let go of Kirihara and stepped back. Glancing at Kirihara, it didn't look like he'd be running away anywhere.

Other Kenjutsu members, agitated by the perceived disrespect, grit their teeth to the point of audibility.

"Why is it only Kirihara?! Mibu over there is just as guilty! She fought too!"

Tatsuya didn't budge, "As I said before, I'm apprehending him for the improper use of magic."

Again, with a calm voice, he dutifully answered. You should've just ignored them... thought Erika, and at that point, her concerns became real.

"Stop messing around!"

Again, he lunged.

Tatsuya avoided the attacks another time, but that only made things worse.

Now the upperclassman was throwing his fists at him, but Tatsuya was still dodging those.

No matter what the upperclassman did, he wasn't able to touch Tatsuya. Not only was hand-to-hand combat Tatsuya's specialty, but the upperclassman was also blinded by rage, his movements uncalculated and the consequences unweighted. Tatsuya stepped lightly as necessary. As his opponent grew more fatigued, two Kenjutsu members snuck behind him.

Tatsuya spun, knocking the legs from under them and giving a light push. They tumbled to the ground.

Silence filled the room once again.

If there were any sound, it would be the sound of a boiling pot reaching its peak and bursting. Because, following this victory, the entire Kenjutsu club broke into the pure embodiment of chaos.

Everyone not involved made the wise choice of running in the opposite direction.

Sayaka stepped forward, but an upperclassman grabbed her wrist, and she allowed him to pull her away from the scene.

Meanwhile, Tatsuya was left to handle an entire club on his own.

Erika noticed that he was quite good at handling himself. His movements were not graceful exactly, but they were solid. As if he knew the order in which they would attack. He didn't attack, only avoided. The blooms understood this was not because he couldn't attack, but because he didn't need to.

Many tried to activate their CADs, but nothing seemed to be happening no matter how many times they recast. Rather, they were filled with the sense of rocking in a boat in the ocean, overcome with a feeling of sickness. They didn't understand what was happening, but rather than making the decision to leave or stop, as any reasonable person would do, they continued.

What a mistake that was.

* * *

 **I should be able to update more because school just ended for me, but no promises. At least we're through the first volume! Most changes happen with the Nine Schools Competition, so I guess you'll see what happens.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **PS I know there are probably typos, errors, etc., but I'll continue to edit and improve this chapter, so don't worry!**


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